Tokyo: Price hikes hit a total of 32,396 items of 195 major food and beverage makers in Japan in 2023, research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.

“The total (of food price increases) exceeding 30,000 items is unprecedented in the 30 years since the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy” in the 1990s, a Teikoku Databank official said. In 2022, prices went up for 25,768 food items.

Meanwhile, the number of items whose prices will be raised next year is forecast to fall sharply to up to around 15,000.

Still, the official warned that prices may rise for more items than forecast depending on cost factors and foreign exchange movements.

In 2023, price hikes hit over 5,000 items in each of February, when major makers raised frozen food prices, and April, when prices of mayonnaise and other goods rose due to egg shortages.

A growing number of budget-minded consumers have shifted to cheaper private brand items. The pace of price hikes slowed toward the end of 2023 as makers became increasingly concerned about falling sales volumes.

 In 2024, prices for 3,891 items, including olive oil and whisky, are set to rise by May.

Price hikes may result from growth in personnel costs associated with wage increases as well as a rebound in utility bills following the expiration of the government’s subsidy program. Another possible factor is a surge in logistics costs due to the so-called 2024 problem, linked to serious truck driver shortages that may arise from new overtime regulations.

JIJI Press