Executives at major Japanese food maker Ajinomoto say they are raising prices of instant soup stocks and salt for home use, citing higher costs.

The company says 12 kinds of soup products will cost more from April. Other products will continue to sell at the same price -- but the contents of the packages will be reduced.

The price increase will translate to 7 to 11 percent per gram. This means the cost of a popular 21-cube package of stock will rise by 30 yen to 370 yen, or about 3 dollars and 40 cents.

Meanwhile, the company is also hiking prices for 13 types of salt products by 5 to 10 percent. This will send the price of a one-kilogram package of salt up by 30 yen to 380 yen, or 3 dollars and 50 cents.

Officials say their internal efforts alone are no longer enough to absorb higher costs of raw materials such as beef extract, and distribution expenses.

Source: ANNnewsCH