Ink shortage means black-and-white bags of potato chips in Japan

AN INK shortage caused by the Middle East conflict is forcing Japan’s biggest potato-chip maker to tone down its packaging, the latest sign that a widening raw-materials crunch is rippling through global markets.

Calbee will temporarily revise the design of some of its most popular products, including potato chips, shrimp crackers and fruit granola cereal, to use just two ink colours, the Tokyo-based snack company said on Tuesday.

Manufacturers around the world are coping with dwindling supplies of petrochemicals and other basic materials needed to make products for consumers.

In Japan, where Calbee commands roughly half of the snack market, toilet and household materials maker Toto temporarily suspended orders for its prefabricated plastic baths, although it resumed them after securing support from suppliers and the government.

“The change applies only to a limited number of products and will not affect product quality,” Calbee said in a statement, adding that the new packaging for some 14 product varieties will start to hit stores from May 25.

Resins derived from naphtha, a derivative of crude oil, are typically used as a basic ingredient for commercial packaging inks.

Although the shortage of the petrochemical was acute in the early days of the Iran conflict, they have since eased, according to Shinichi Takei, executive managing director of the Japan Printing Ink Makers Association.

“We believe Calbee’s decision to limit its packaging to two colours reflects an effort to conserve resources in anticipation of future conditions,” Takei said in an emailed statement.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries will hold a hearing on the Calbee situation and is examining what types of solvents are used in packaging inks, according to Narumi Hosokawa, an official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. 

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Calbee’s stock fell 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, with initial declines fuelled by earlier reports by public broadcaster NHK and the Nikkei newspaper. BLOOMBERG