Japan egg prices surge on bird flu, rising costs
Eggs are sold in packs with their prices shown above at a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan in this file photo.
Japan is experiencing a shortage and surging prices of chicken eggs due to an avian influenza outbreak and rising costs of feed and labor, local media reported Thursday.
This has also pushed up prices for popular and signature items in Japanese restaurants, such as beef bowl dishes as well as the household staple mayonnaise, according to Nikkei Asia.
As of Wednesday, the wholesale price of medium-size eggs was 335 yen (US$2.49) per kilogram in Tokyo, up 81 percent from a year ago, data from local egg seller JA. Z-Tamago showed.
The reading exceeded the previous high since 1986 of 280 yen (US$2.08), the average wholesale price for January.
When bird flu hit Japan late last year, poultry farmers were already reducing the number of egg-laying hens in response to soaring feed prices, the media reported, adding that the increase in chicken culls has made the supply of eggs unstable, causing wholesale prices to skyrocket.
Japan's largest beef bowl chains Sukiya, Yoshinoya and Matsuya have raised prices of their flagship products, as market watchers here cited higher costs of labor and raw materials such as eggs for the hikes.
While the country is experiencing its highest consumer price increases in four decades, the situation has caused extra concern for local consumers and suppliers as eggs are normally one of Japan's most stably priced food items.
In December last year, Japan's core consumer inflation reached 4 percent from a year earlier, hitting a 41-year high due to higher energy and food prices.
The price pressure might not see an immediate end, reported Nikkei Asia, citing Seiichiro Samejima, a chief analyst at Japan's Ichiyoshi Research Institute.
"It will take about six more months to cure the effects of avian flu through culling," Samejima said.
