Food price hikes in Japan in October to be largest so far in 2024

Price hikes in October will affect nearly 3,000 food products, the highest monthly figure this year, as well as other daily necessities such as mail, pharmaceuticals, electricity and gas, due to the weak yen and an increase in costs for various materials and expenses.

Prices of 2,911 products from 195 major food and beverage manufacturers will be raised in October, surpassing April’s figure — the previous highest number in 2024 — by 0.5%, according to a survey by research firm Teikoku Databank.

A rise in raw material costs is the main factor behind the increase, being at least in part responsible for the price increases for 92.7% of the products. Other factors such as freight expenses (68.6%), packaging materials (66.8%), energy bills (61.1%) and personnel expenses (26.7%) also contributed to the price hikes, the survey released on Monday showed.