Consumers in Japan reeling under food inflation will face even higher grocery bills in April. A private research firm says the number of items set for markups will top 4,000 for the first time in 18 months.
Teikoku Databank surveyed 195 major domestic food and beverage makers and says price hikes are planned for 4,225 items in April, according to NHK.
Seasonings account for the largest number at 2,034. This is followed by 1,222 liquor and beverage products. Canned beer and canned "chuhai" spirits are set to cost more, along with coffee.
Another 659 items are in the processed food category, including frozen foods, ham and sausages. The research firm says prices are rising faster than last year because producers are passing on the increased cost of labor and distribution, as well as higher ingredient prices.
Teikoku says the price hikes are likely to continue intermittently, at least through the summer.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), which regularly compiles and publishes the average price of rice in about 1,000 supermarkets throughout Japan, the price of rice in March this year was more than twice as much as it was during the same period last year.
In addition to the price of rice, the price of eggs in Japan is also a matter of concern. The average price of JA farm eggs, which is the standard for egg wholesale prices, was 327 yen (about US$2.2) per kilogram in March in the Tokyo area, which is the second highest price for the month of March since 1993 when the survey was started.
The price of eggs of the same specifications in other areas exceeded 300 yen (about US$2) per kilogram, including the Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka areas, where the price of eggs rose by up to 16 yen compared to February.
The MAFF explained that this was due to the decline in egg supply caused by the avian influenza outbreak around the beginning of February this year.
In addition, a number of major banks in Japan have announced their April mortgage rate adjustments, raising the variable interest rate for new loan customers, including MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and Risona Bank.
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