Over 10,000 Foods Items in Japan See Price Increases

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)--The total number of food products in Japan subject to price increases this year has topped 10,000, a private-sector survey showed Wednesday.

Prices for 10,789 items rose or are scheduled to rise this year due to higher prices for materials and crude oil, a sharp increase from 8,385 in its previous survey taken May 19, credit research company Teikoku Databank Ltd. said. The poll covered 105 major food makers.

Of the 2,404 items newly added to the list of products seeing price jumps, 1,075, or nearly half, were alcoholic drinks and other beverages, including Kirin Brewery Co.'s "Ichibanshibori" and Suntory Beer Ltd.'s The Premium Malt's.

Seafood makers Maruha Nichiro Corp. <1333> and Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd. <1332> have said they will raise the prices of frozen food products for the second time.

"Almost all foods undergoing price increases will face the possibility of further hikes" if crude oil prices, which directly impact packaging and transportation costs, remain high, a Teikoku Databank official said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]