Closure wave! Rising raw materials affect many industries!

According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) website on April 5, several large convenience store chains in Japan have raised the sales prices of bento and other staple items due to the impact of rising raw material prices. Among them, 7-11 Japan has increased the sales prices of about 60 items such as bento, noodle products and bread in order from this week, with the increase ranging from 2% to 15% of the sales price excluding consumption tax. Although the company had already raised the prices of some sandwich items in March, it decided that it was necessary to review other items and finally made the decision to raise prices. The company has also increased the prices of 10 types of fried foods prepared in stores, including meatloaf and some fried chicken nuggets, by 3 to 12 percent of their prices including consumption tax, effective April 5. The company is also planning to increase the prices of bento, salads and other food items by up to 15 percent, and is currently coordinating on the products to be subject to the increase and the period of the increase. In addition, Rosen, a large convenience store chain, has also increased the prices of about 50 items, including sandwiches and rice balls, by 2% to 14% of their prices including consumption tax since the beginning of March. A wave of closures! Rising raw materials are affecting several industries! Image source: CCTV News Turkey's inflation rate exceeded 61% in March Fear of closure in the restaurant industry According to CCTV news reports, the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and driven by soaring energy prices, Turkey's inflation rate exceeded 61% in March, again hitting a new high in inflation in the past 20 years. The local restaurant industry is under tremendous pressure due to rising operating costs and the reduced willingness of the public to consume under high prices. Industry insiders predict that Turkey's restaurant industry will usher in a new wave of closures. Even on weekends, Istanbul's bustling tourist restaurant district is still cold and quiet. Fateh, the owner of a restaurant in Istanbul, said that electricity and water bills, gas, food raw materials, nothing is not rising. A normal month of these costs, which is 15,000 lira (about 6,000 yuan), but last month they paid about 29,000 to 31,000 lira (about 12,000 to 13,000 yuan), almost doubled. In order to save money, the owner did everything himself, shortened the staff's working hours to lower their salaries, and also delayed the restaurant's opening hours. But another difficulty is that the high prices of the public's willingness to spend, the restaurant turnover fell by at least 30%. Fateh said that without additional capital turnover, the restaurant can be maintained for a maximum of four months, because the rent in this area is very high. According to the latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey's consumer price index rose 61 percent year-on-year in March, at its highest level since March 2002. Among them, food prices rose 70 percent year-on-year, transportation costs rose 99 percent and energy costs rose nearly 103 percent. Analysts pointed out that nearly 80% of the domestic restaurant industry in Turkey are suffering from high prices. Turkish Restaurant and Entertainment Association President Demirash said that the next six months will close more than single-digit restaurants, at least double-digit. That means 10 to 20 percent of restaurants will close if they can't find ways to cut costs to stay profitable or at least not lose money. In fact, not only the restaurant industry, but also many industries in Turkey are affected by high inflation. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has triggered a spike in global commodity prices, hitting Turkey, a country that relies on imports for almost all of its oil and gas supplies, even harder. Analysts believe that hyperinflationary pressures in Turkey will only increase in the future. German food prices to rise further significantly German media on April 1, according to the retail industry is expected to push up energy prices due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, German food prices will rise further significantly. At present, this wave of price increases has not yet touched consumers. However, German retail chains including Aldi, Edeka and Globus have recently announced that they will raise the prices of the food they sell. It is reported that the German food prices have generally increased. Now, the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the German Retailers Association President Joseph Sancachohanser predicted that a second wave of price increases will come, and the rate of increase will certainly reach double digits, "we will soon be able to see this on the price tag in the supermarket. A few days ago, German retail chain Aldi has announced that from next week, food prices, including meat, sausages and butter, will be "significantly more expensive" because it must pay higher prices to suppliers. "Since the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, there has been an increase in procurement prices that we have not experienced before." The Aldi director noted that this is also due to the fact that feed and fertilizer as well as energy prices have become more expensive, which will also be felt by the livestock and meat processing industries. Two weeks ago, Aldi has raised the prices of about 160 items, and a week later raised the prices of another 20 items. Edeka said last week that, given world market conditions, "higher selling prices across the industry are inevitable. In addition, consumer fears of food shortages have long been apparent. Data released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office show that, as in the early days of the new crown pandemic, consumer demand for certain consumer goods has risen significantly since the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For example, in the week of March 7-13 alone, consumer demand for cooking oil was more than twice as high as in September 2021, and demand for flour became three times as high. However, no food supply bottlenecks are expected in Germany in the short term. What is foreseeable is that the food supply is guaranteed for a year, said Ruckveld, president of the German Farmers' Association. "But beyond that time frame, it is difficult to predict." French fuel prices continue to rise as officials call on people to save energy France is experiencing a new round of energy crisis, fuel prices continue to rise. French officials on the 28th called on the public to save electricity and natural gas from now on to avoid facing energy crunch this winter. According to the official data released on the 28th, French fuel prices rose again, the price of diesel per liter and the price of 95 gasoline per liter exceeded 2 euros, approaching a record high. Analysis shows that, in the context of global economic recovery and limited extraction of major oil-producing countries, the price of oil has been on an upward trend, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed the price of crude oil to a new high. The price of fuel has also become one of the important issues in the 2022 French presidential election. From April 1, the French government will slightly reduce the fuel tax so as to reduce the burden of consumers. French presidential candidate Melenchon and others have called for a freeze on oil prices to avoid another rise. The French Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission de régulation de l'énergie) Chairman Karen Coe warned that France may have an energy shortage at the end of this year, and called on the French people to start saving electricity and natural gas from now on, saying that if no measures are taken, the energy situation this winter will be very serious. Some experts said that there are two main reasons for this energy crisis in France: First, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has affected the natural gas market, triggering supply tensions; second, France's newest nuclear power plants to be inspected for safety, which may lead to lower power generation from nuclear plants this year. Calenko said that in order to alleviate this energy crisis, the entire French society needs to be mobilized, whether in the industrial sector, the tertiary sector or every French citizen, should act, and it has now reached the urgent moment. Demonstrations have broken out in many places. Peru declares curfew in the capital and other places On April 5, according to foreign media reports, demonstrations broke out across Peru recently due to soaring fuel and fertilizer prices. Peruvian President Castillo announced a curfew for the capital Lima and the neighboring port city of Callao on the 5th. Inflation in Peru reportedly reached a 26-year high in March, with fuel and food prices soaring. Despite the government lifting most fuel taxes over the weekend and raising the minimum salary by about 10 percent to 1,205 soles (about 2,100 yuan) a month since May, truck and passenger drivers took to the streets on the 4th to demonstrate. Castillo said in a televised speech that the country's Council of Ministers approved a curfew from 2 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on April 5, given that some organizations want to take violent action. Just now, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency on the national road network The Peruvian government declared a 30-day state of emergency on the national highway network on April 7, local time. During the state of emergency, "certain constitutional rights to freedom of movement and assembly of individuals" will be restricted and the national police will be assisted by the armed forces to maintain order in the country. Recently, a massive transport strike broke out in many parts of Peru to protest against the increase in the price of fuel, road tolls and basic goods in the country, causing traffic chaos in many parts of the country. The violence that occurred during the strike left several people dead