September 30, 2023

2023-09-29 23:30:00

Teikoku Databank announced a price revision trend survey of “195 major food companies” in October 2013. A total of 31,887 food items had their prices increased in 2023 (123.7% compared to the previous year), and the average price increase per time was 15%, higher than last year’s 14%.

According to the survey, as consumers are becoming increasingly price conscious, some private brand (PB) products have been reduced in price, and around 800 national brand (NB) products, mainly draft canned beer, have been reduced. It is said that the situation is different from the pricing strategy since 2022, when the focus was on price increases, with prices being lowered.

Food manufacturers have also seen sluggish sales following raising prices, a lull in raw material prices, and improved profits due to the penetration of price increases, and the momentum for price increases has stalled compared to the beginning of the year.

However, in the future, due to the prolonged depreciation of the yen at the low 140 yen level to the dollar, it may be difficult for imported ingredients such as edible oil to benefit from price declines, which have fallen in international market prices. There are no positive factors to stabilize food prices, such as the continued rise in the prices of logistics costs and packaging materials, electricity and gas costs that remain high, and a poor harvest of domestic seaweed for raw materials, and prices have continued to rise intermittently since 2024. It is possible that this will continue.

Prices of 4,634 items increased in October, 60% of the previous year

195 major food manufacturers increased the prices of 4,634 food and beverage items in October, mainly for household use. Approximately 70% of the sales were for alcoholic beverages and beverages, such as beer, low-malt beer, and Japanese sake, which were affected by the liquor tax hike, and other foods such as processed foods such as ham and sausage, ice cream, frozen confections, and chocolate sweets had their prices increased once more. This was the third highest single-month figure of the year, and the fourth highest since 2022.

On the other hand, compared to last year’s 7,864 items, which was one of the largest ever for October, the number of items decreased by 3,230 items, or 60%, and was lower than the same month last year for the third consecutive month.

Compared to October 2022, when prices of almost all foods were raised all at once, there has been no major change in the composition of food items whose prices have been increased, but approximately 800 items have undergone “price reductions (including real price reductions)” in October. , responses differed depending on the item. In addition, the postponement of price increases for seasonings such as mayonnaise and soup stock products has also had an impact on the overall decline in the number of items with price increases.

A total of 31,887 items were subject to price increases in 2023, including those that have already been implemented and those scheduled for the future. The year-to-date total far exceeded the 2022 level (26,237 items), marking a record price hike unprecedented since the bursting of the bubble economy. As more and more companies have been able to pass on the increase, the momentum of price increases is likely to slow down towards the second half of 2023.

As a result, price increases are expected to peak in October and then stagnate until the end of 2023, with prices expected to remain at around 32,000 items, slightly lower than the initial annual forecast (35,000 items).

Alcoholic beverages and beverages have the highest price increases; raw material prices continue to rise

In October 2023, “alcoholic beverages and beverages” (3,194 items) had the highest price increase of the year. Although it was the most common in all food categories, it was only 80% compared to the same month last year. Items such as “processed foods” (890 items) and “seasonings” (209 items) also decreased significantly compared to the same month last year.

On the other hand, the three categories of “Confectionery” (173 items), “Raw materials” (118 items), and “Dairy products” (50 items) all exceeded the same month last year. In the confectionery category, many products such as imported flour, raw milk, raw sugar, and chocolate had their prices increased once more due to the impact of higher raw material prices. In terms of raw materials, there was a noticeable increase in the prices of sesame and olive oil products, which were affected by unfavorable weather in producing countries such as heat waves and droughts.

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