Kewpie Corp. said Wednesday it will raise prices on major jam products by 4 to 7 percent, starting with shipments on Sept. 2, due to higher costs of imported fruits amid the yen's depreciation against other currencies.
The price increase on jam products will be the first in 23 years, the company said. Increased demand for fruits in China and other emerging economies have also pushed up import costs, it added.
For example, the retail price of a 165-gram jar of strawberry jam under Kewpie's Aohata 55 brand will be raised from ¥220 to ¥233, not including sales tax.
The price of orange marmalade and blueberry jams will also go up, but that of apple and apricot jams will stay the same, as domestically grown fruit is mainly used for those products, Kewpie said.