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Tokyo soba restaurant owner Ryu Ishihara, who says he will soon be raising prices on his inexpensive bowls of noodles for the first time in nearly a decade, as rising costs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine force up the price of buckwheat noodles.
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The suppliers did all they could, but this time the situation's so bad there's no way to avoid raising prices. There are things I'll have to raise by 10 to 15%.
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4 Comments
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Skeptical
In CY 2020, the top exporters of buckwheat were Russia ($30.6M USD), China ($11.7M USD), United States ($11M USD), Poland ($9.78M USD), and Lithuania ($7.95M USD).
In CY 2020, the top importers of buckwheat were Japan ($22.3M USD), Ukraine ($14.3M USD), Latvia ($7.83M USD), Poland ($7.59M USD), and France ($6.13M USD).
smithinjapan
It's not just the war in Ukraine, but also the devaluation of the yen by the BOJ with the tacit approval of the government in order to increase exports from big companies. They could, for example, import more buckwheat from Canada, but with the yen going from .80 or so on the Canadian dollar a month and a half ago to 102 to the dollar now, it would cost a fortune. So, don't try to deflect and blame it all on the war.
GBR48
Official figures are ridiculously small, but inflation is running at 10%-50% depending on what you are buying. And it is likely to get worse.
Getting big ticket items now rather than next year may save you some cash. Stocking up with non-perishable foods, buying wholesale (with friends/neighbours/workmates) and (if you eat meat), buying it ready cooked, may save you cash.
This is not a blip and raising interest rates will not fix it.
kohakuebisu
Over 90% of buckwheat is imported, some from Russia.