Tokyo: Over 20,000 food products are expected to face price hikes this year, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.

The credit research company said that price increases in 2023 have been announced for 18,544 food items so far, making it likely that the tally will exceed the 20,000 threshold again. Last year, prices were raised for a total of 25,768 food items.

According to a survey of 195 major food makers, price hikes are slated for 5,106 goods in April, a roughly 4.2-fold increase from a year before and the third highest monthly figure since January last year. In particular, prices are being raised for dairy foods and beverages.

Over 5,000 food items saw price hikes in February as well, outpacing the record wave of hikes marked last year.

Bread, bottled drinks and canned beers are highly likely to be subject to price increases in the future, with producers yet to fully reflect higher materials costs in their prices.

According to a Teikoku Databank projection, rising prices in April and beyond are expected to expand households’ average monthly food costs in fiscal 2023, excluding fresh foods, by 2,140 yen from the year before, in case no money-saving efforts are made.

More price increases in the future are seen imposing heavier burdens on household finances.

JIJI Press