“The price of our Cup Noodles has gone up starting today. Until yesterday it was 189 yen (excluding tax), so it’s gone up by 10 yen,” says Kuniaki Takanishi of Coolich Takuhoku store. A staggering 2,798 food and beverage items will see price increases starting April 1st. “The items going up are oil and Ajinomoto mayonnaise. Mayonnaise will go up by about 30 yen,” says Takanishi. Cooking oil will increase by about 80 yen.
This supermarket has made efforts to delay the price increases as much as possible by stocking up on products in advance, but… “This is a tough shopping trip,” says a shopper. Amidst this relentless wave of price increases that are hurting our wallets, vegetables will be our savior in April! “I think chives are a good deal,”
(Takanishi) “These eggplants are 198 yen for 5. I think they’re a good deal,” (Takanishi) “The weather has been calm, so you can get good quality produce at low prices without any damage,” (all by Takanishi) According to the price forecast released by Hokkaido, lettuce is expected to be more than 10% cheaper than usual, and cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes are also expected to be cheaper than in March. But what about eggs and rice, which are of concern? “There’s a bird flu outbreak, so we can’t get any eggs in. The shelves are empty,”
(Takanishi) But then… “They just came in. I’ve been waiting for them,” (Takanishi) “They weren’t there a moment ago, but I was surprised to see them again on my next round, so I decided to buy some. Lucky me,” (shopper) The average price in Sapporo remains high at 321 yen in March. “There are no eggs, and the price keeps going up,” “The first priority is for the bird flu to subside,”
(both by Takanishi) And when we look at the rice shelves, some products are sold out there as well. The reason for the shortages was completely different from that of the eggs. “Until now it was about 3,580 yen excluding tax, but now we’ve lowered the price to about 3,290 yen and are selling it for that price.” “People who couldn’t afford rice before are buying it in droves, and it sold out in no time. We’ll be getting a huge shipment again tomorrow.”
(Both from Takanishi) The average price of 5 kg of rice at supermarkets nationwide is 3,978 yen. The rice, which was priced significantly lower than that, sold out in no time. Why are rice prices falling now? “We sold a lot of rice last year, so we ordered about the same amount as last year, but now we’re going to have two or three months’ worth of inventory to carry over.”
(Mayumi Ito, Komeshin Nishioka Store) A rice shop in Toyohira Ward, Sapporo City, was in a situation where they had a surplus of rice. They said that a “rice-averse” trend had occurred, and the number of customers had decreased by 10-20%. “We’re selling ‘Nanatsuboshi’ rice at a 50 yen discount per kilogram, exclusively for members.” “I think we’ll have to adjust our prices to match those of supermarkets to some extent.” (Both from Ito) Furthermore, there are also shops that continue to resist the wave of price increases.
At a restaurant in Sapporo’s Chuo Ward, customers who order from the lunch menu can enjoy unlimited rice and eggs. “It’s so helpful. Eggs and rice are expensive,” said a customer. “Some customers eat four or five eggs, and others pile their rice high, so it’s nice to see them enjoying their meal,” said Masayuki Ueki of ZANGI Ichiban! The cost of both eggs and rice has increased by about 20%. “We’re cutting labor costs by having customers serve the food, and we’re making daily efforts to keep it going…” said Ueki. The battle against rising prices, with no clear end in sight, seems likely to continue for some time.
