The number of food items whose prices are set to be raised in February is up 1.8% from a year before at 1,656, a survey by research company Teikoku Databank 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.
The number of food items subject to price increases in 2025 is 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 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% to 45%, while Ezaki Glico will raise the prices of chocolate snack Pocky.
In response to a sharp rise in the price of rice as a raw material, frozen food producer Nichirei Foods will increase the price of frozen grilled rice balls. Makers of flour products such as Nisshin Seifun Welna will raise the prices of cake flour and premix flour products.
As the depreciation of the yen and an increase in personnel expenses due to wage hikes are also putting upward pressure on food production costs, "a rush to raise prices will likely occur toward early spring this year on a larger scale than last year," a Teikoku Databank official said.
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