Survey: Oct. price hikes to hit 6,000 Japan food, drink items

Aug 01 (NHK) - A survey by a private research firm shows the rush to raise prices for food and beverages will likely continue into the autumn and beyond in Japan, with more than 18,000 items affected.

Teikoku Databank polled 105 major domestic makers of food and beverages as of the end of July.

The results show 81 companies have already raised or plan to raise the prices of their products this year.

A total of 18,532 items have been or will be affected, up 3,200 from the previous month. The average price increase is 14 percent.

By month, October will see the largest number of price increases, with more than 6,000 items affected.

Many companies cite higher costs of ingredients, such as wheat and cooking oil as a reason they are raising prices. They also blame soaring crude oil prices, which have jacked up their costs for logistics and packing.

Many also blame increases in import prices due to the yen's sharp depreciation. ...continue reading

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