Tokyo resident Takei Ryoko used to go out to eat three nights a week, but now, due to coronavirus concerns, she rarely goes out to eat.
When she first started making her own dinners, pork was one of her go-to ingredients.
“Abdominal red meat is cheap,” he says. Tasty and easy to use on a day-to-day basis. “
Japanese families (excluding those living alone) spent 2,429 yen, or about $23, on red meat in January, according to a survey of household income sources and expenses conducted through the Interior Ministry. But starting in May, that number increased to more. of 2,942 yen, or about $27, an increase of about 19. 1 percent.
This increase is partly due to families dining more at home during the pandemic: more food on the table means buying more red meat at the supermarket. But it’s also due to rising prices.
Akidai, a Tokyo-based supermarket chain, was forced to increase the costs of its red meat products by 25% in just one month.
“Demand is high but right now we’re not able to get enough from North America,” says president Akiba Hiromichi.
Affordability has long been one of the reasons red meat is so spicy in Japanese households, but it turns out that’s changing.
Approximately part of the red meat consumed in Japan is imported and another part comes from the United States and Canada.
The US pork industry has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. According to The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, at least 30 meatpacking plants have temporarily suspended operations at some point since March due to on-site coronavirus outbreaks. This has led to a 40% reduction in pork processing capacity, which has sent prices shooting up across the country.
The effects are being felt halfway across the world. HyLife Pork Table, a restaurant in central Tokyo, reopened last month after the nationwide state of emergency was lifted. Its speciality is a thick pork loin steak. But the price of the product it buys from Canada is up 15%. This increase, combined with a drop in customer traffic, is posing a big challenge to the restaurant.
“Pork costs in North America peaked between April and May,” says Funakoshi Naoyuki, director of progression at HyLife Pork Japan. “The red meat purchased then now arrives in Japan and will continue until August. This is when the costs will be highest. We have to find a way to get through those months.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said last month in its Food Outlook report that it expects pig production to decline in 2020 to 101 million tonnes, down 8% from last year. This would be a consecutive year of decline.
“I still have no choice but to continue dining at home, now that infections are emerging in Tokyo,” says Takei Ryoko. “I’m going to have to switch to a less expensive pork logo. “