ASEAN supply chain woes drive up food prices in Japan

COVID outbreaks lead to worker shortages at palm oil and chicken producers

20210827N Thailand chicken REUTERS

Prices of poultry from Thailand have jumped to rarely seen highs in Japan due to closures at processing plants. © Reuters

MAIKO SUGIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Coronavirus-induced worker shortages at farms and food distributors in Southeast Asia are being felt by supermarket shoppers thousands of kilometers away in Japan. 

The price of palm oil -- an ingredient in margarine and many other products -- has spiked in Japan to a high not seen since 1985, up 32% from a year earlier at around 217 yen ($1.97) per kilogram this month.

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