More food price hikes on the way as increased wheat prices squeeze Japan’s pasta makers

January 18, 2008
By Ken Worsley

On Thursday, Japan’s leading seller of pasta, Nisshin Foods, announced that it will be forced to raise prices on its pasta, pasta sauce and frozen foods products for consumers, as well as its prices for commercial use products. According to a news release issued by the company, consumer pasta prices will be hiked 15-20%, pasta sauce prices will increase 4-12%, and frozen food prices will be going up from 3-16%.

The company also announced that pasta prices for commercial use will jump 30-40%, frozen pasta prices will increase 15-20%, and pasta sauce will see an 8-12% increase.

The price increases are set to kick in on March 1 of this year. Nisshin cites increases in international wheat prices as the primary factor leading to the decision, as durum wheat prices have doubled since last summer.

We expect that other pasta and flour makers will follow Nisshin’s lead and announce price increases in the coming weeks and months. Although Nisshin is not yet announcing an increase in the price of imported pasta products, it remains a possibility. We’re forced to wonder if the closing price gap between domestic and imported pasta will affect consumer purchasing behavior in the supermarket…

Filed Under Business, Inflation