Due to the soaring price of crude oil, the price of Styrofoam, which is indispensable for transporting fish, is also rising, and measures such as reuse are being taken in the Tokyo Toyosu market, but due to the prospect of further price increase, wholesalers There are concerns that we will have to pass it on to the price of fish in the future.
Foamed styrol used for transporting fish is affected by soaring crude oil prices because it is made from petroleum, and according to the Toyosu Market Intermediate Wholesalers Association in Koto Ward, Tokyo, the purchase price starts from 30% in half a year. It means that the price has increased by 40%.
As a measure against price increases, the relatively clean Styrofoam was reused at the wholesaler "Yamaji", which wholesales fish to supermarkets and department stores in Tokyo, and was washed in the store's warehouse for reuse. Styrofoam was piled up.
In addition, we are also calling on customers who come to purchase to cooperate, and we have asked them to combine styrofoam that had been separated for each type of fish into one, reducing the amount of styrofoam used.
At this wholesaler, the cost of styrofoam and bag packaging materials is currently about 4 million yen per month, but it is expected to rise further to about 5 million yen from next month, so the end of August It is said that there is a possibility that the price will be passed on to the price of fish and the price will have to be raised.
Yasuhiro Yamazaki, president of "Yamaji", said, "Because the price of fish is already high, we can't pass it on suddenly, and the wholesalers who are directly connected to consumers are putting up with it. Wholesalers all over the country are suffering and getting out of hand. I am most worried that the fish will be separated by passing on the price in the future. "
Packaging material sales company "Need to squeeze wisdom together"
According to the "Tokyo Fish Container," which sells marine product packaging materials to wholesalers in the Toyosu market, 80% to 90% of the approximately 1,200 types of products handled, such as Styrofoam and bags for transporting fish, have increased in price since last year. It means that you are doing it.
Of these, Styrofoam, which accounts for 30% of sales, has already risen by 10% to 20%, and some manufacturers have announced that the price will rise again around the summer of this year.
In addition, the price of fish bags has been raised twice in March and this month, and it is the first time in the past 15 years that the price has continued to rise in such a short period of time.
For this reason, some wholesalers change the size of Styrofoam to smaller ones or switch the thickness of bags to thinner ones.
Shusaku Hara, CEO of Tokyo Fish Container, said, "If you pass it on to the price of fish, it will compete with ingredients such as meat and consumers may leave. If you do not protect the interests of traders and fishermen, the fishery itself will decline. It could be. In the future, we all need to squeeze our wisdom in order to continue our business. "