TOKYO - Prolonged tensions in the Middle East are beginning to affect everyday vegetables in Japan, with tomato farmers facing higher costs and shortages of packaging materials.
As packs and plastic bags used to ship tomatoes become more expensive and harder to secure, some businesses are seeking ways to cope by reducing packaging altogether.
At Sugaya Farm in Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, rows of fully ripened red tomatoes gleam like rubies inside greenhouses. The farm cultivates around 60 tons of tomatoes annually across six agricultural houses.
Although tomatoes are now entering their peak summer season, growers say they are increasingly concerned about rising costs.
Shunnosuke Sugaya, head of Sugaya Farm, said suppliers had informed him that prices for tomato bags and plastic packs were set to rise by around 30%.
'We are hearing from many material suppliers that prices for tomato bags and packs are going up,' Sugaya said.
The farm uses large quantities of such materials every day to ship harvested produce.
The recent surge in crude oil prices, driven by worsening tensions in the Middle East, is now spreading to plastic products made from petroleum. Some agricultural materials are already in short supply.
Sugaya said orders for mulch sheets used to control weeds and pests had been halted in some cases, while others were struggling to obtain them at all.
Higher oil prices could also affect tomato production more directly through heating costs later in the year.
Sugaya said the farm begins purchasing fuel from October as temperatures fall and greenhouses require heating.
'What matters is what prices will look like then. Even a 20% rise in fuel costs could mean several hundred thousand yen, or in the worst case several million yen,' he said.
If that happens, the farm may have little choice but to consider raising product prices.
Elsewhere, some businesses are trying to turn the crisis into an opportunity by encouraging customers to go without disposable packaging.
At 'Oimo Biyori Azumino' in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, which sells candied sweet potatoes coated in syrup, customers who bring their own lidded containers receive a 30-yen discount per pack.
The store said the campaign was launched partly because plastic containers had become harder to procure, and partly because inflation had led more consumers to cut back on sweets purchases.
Store manager Rie Imai said around one-third or more of customers were now bringing their own containers.
'Reducing the use of plastic containers has also been a real help for us,' Imai said.
Such practical measures may become more widespread as businesses and farmers adapt to mounting cost pressures.
Source: FNN
