December 19, 2007

Japan government likely to raise wheat price 20-30 percent in April

The government looks set to sharply raise the price of wheat it sells to Japanese flour millers from April, which could result in much higher bread and noodle prices next year, reported the Asahi Shimbun in its Wednesday (December 19, 2007) morning edition.

Due to soaring prices of wheat on international markets, the Ministry of Agriculture feels that it will have to hike its wheat prices by at least 20 percent to 30 percent, the Asahi Shimbun report said. This follows a 10 percent hike in wheat prices in October.

As wheat is used as a base material for many food products, Japanese consumers will likely be seeing higher prices on grocery store shelves for breads, noodles, snacks and other staples, the report added.