Prices of 1,656 Food Items to Increase in Japan in Feb.

   Tokyo, Jan. 31 (Jiji Press)--The number of food items whose prices are set to be raised in February is up 1.8 pct from a year before at 1,656, a survey by Japanese corporate research company Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed Friday.
   In the survey, which examined price trends of 195 major food makers in Japan, price hikes were notable for chocolate confectioneries, flour products and frozen food using rice.
   Food items subject to price increases in 2025 are on track to surpass last year's total, with the cumulative number of such items since the beginning of the year possibly topping 10,000 as early as in April, according to Teikoku Databank.
   Partly because the prices of cacao beans, the raw material for chocolate, have been on the rise amid poor harvests, confectionery maker Morinaga & Co. will pull up the shipment prices of 38 items, including chocolate confectionery Dars, by around 5-45 pct and Ezaki Glico Co. will raise the prices of chocolate snack Pocky.
   In response to a sharp rise in the prices of rice as a raw material, frozen food maker Nichirei Foods Inc. will increase the prices of frozen grilled rice balls. Flour products makers such as Nisshin Seifun Welna Inc. will raise the prices of cake flour and premix flour products.

(2025/01/31-13:46)

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