Japan faces price hikes on 614 food items in June amid higher costs

Japanese consumers faced price hikes in June on 614 food items, including confectionery and dairy products, with the prolonged depreciation of the yen and bad weather driving up import costs of raw materials, a credit research company said.Poor harvests triggered by extreme heat and drought abroad have led to price hikes in Japan for imported cocoa beans, coffee beans, olives, and orange and other fruit juices, a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed.Prices of 68 products from Japan's leading potato chip maker Calbee Inc., including traditionally popular snack food Kappa Ebisen, increased …READ FULL ARTICLE