There are only about 20 days left.
At Ameyoko Shopping Street in Ueno, Tokyo, which is crowded with people who buy ingredients for the New Year holidays every year, the stores are struggling to deal with it because the purchase price of marine products has been soaring recently.
Ameyoko in Ueno, Tokyo, is crowded with many shoppers at the end of the year.
Due to the soaring prices of seafood, there are a series of uneasy voices from shops on the street.
People who came to shop ...
A woman who came to shop said, "Because it's New Year's food, I think I'll try to inspire a little more than usual."
Also, a man walking down the street said, "I think it's about 20% more expensive. I'm scouting for a cheaper place."
Ingredients for New Year dishes ...
At the seafood store that has been in this shopping district for 15 years, the purchase price of "Kazunoko" and "Ikura" used for New Year dishes is about 30% to 40% higher than the same period last year. ..
Even so, considering the impact on sales, it is not possible to raise the price, so this store is responding by reducing the amount while keeping the price unchanged.
To keep the price unchanged ...
For example, last year we put about 300 grams of "Kazunoko" in a bag, but this time we reduced it to nearly 250 grams.
Also, at this store, "salmon" is sold as fillets in the store, but since the purchase price of "salmon" is also rising, it means that the thickness of each slice is adjusted.
Mr. Mochimaru Kenko, who has been a shop owner for 5 years, said, "Every year, people who buy it notice that the price goes up, so it is difficult to raise the price. It is really tough because I have no experience with such a high purchase price. I was talking.
On the other hand, at another fish store,
▽ the amount of water used is reduced to reduce the water bill, and
▽ to avoid disposal of products, frozen fish etc. are not lined up in the store until an order is placed. I did.
The representative director of this fish store said, "In the Ameya Yoko shopping district, customers buy by comparing many stores, so it is not possible to make a business with the feeling that" because it is the end of the year, you will buy it even if it is expensive. " I want to do my best to deliver things as cheaply as possible. "
Soaring purchase prices of marine products are also in "Osechi" ...
Due to the high purchase price of seafood, some stores have decided to raise the price of New Year dishes sold every year.
The restaurant in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture has been making and selling New Year dishes every year since eight years ago, and it is popular with regular customers.
We have 2 and 3 tiers of jubako, but we decided to raise the price by about 30% from last year.
The purchase price of "Kazunoko" and "Ikura", which are indispensable for New Year dishes, has been rising for several years, but the price increase is particularly large, and the price of "Kazunoko" is more than doubled compared to last year. It is said that "Ikura" is about 70% higher.
Not only "shrimp" and "yellowtail" but also "kuwai" and "black soybeans" are increasing in price as ingredients used for osechi dishes.
Until now, the price of osechi dishes has been kept unchanged as much as possible even though the purchase price has risen, but it is said that he could not bear this and decided to raise the price.
Shopkeeper "Price increase is unavoidable so as not to deteriorate the quality"
Chihiro Yoshida, the owner of the restaurant, said, "I didn't want to raise the price considering the customers, but since it's an osechi dish, I can't change the ingredients I use. I was talking.
How do you see Toyosu Market?
In the Toyosu market in Tokyo, the wholesale price of seafood has continued to exceed last year.
The wholesale prices per kilogram for the week up to the 2nd of this month
are 3 times higher for sardines,
1.6 times higher for saury and yellowtail,
and nearly 1.4 times higher for mackerel.
Many items are higher than at the same time last year.
Also, looking at the "salt kazunoko" and "yellowtail" used in osechi dishes, the high wholesale price is much higher than the same day last year on some days.
Regarding this, one of the wholesale companies that manages the Toyosu market
thinks that
▽
the rise in fuel
costs
due to high crude oil prices and
▽ the influence of the red tide on the coast of Hokkaido are the background.
An executive of the company said, "Wholesale prices for fish and shellfish have been high since this fall, and so far there are no signs of a decline. It is inevitable that the New Year's dining table will be affected. Isn't it? "