SUBSCRIBERS

Japan goes into panic buying of chips at S$16 a packet after harvest crunch

Published Fri, Apr 14, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Tokyo

DEMAND for potato chips has surged in Japan this week, with products on offer for six times their retail price online after Japanese snack company Calbee Inc halted the sale of some of its most popular chip brands.

Calbee's pizza-flavoured chips were going for about 1,250 yen (S$16) on Yahoo Japan Corp's auction website on Friday. One bag usually sells for less than 200 yen. Photos of near-empty shelves at their local supermarkets were trending on Twitter.

The crunch came after Calbee warned on Monday that it will temporarily halt the sale of 15 types of potato chips due to a bad crop in Hokk…

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes