Shares in Japanese beermaker Asahi jump after it announces price hikes

TOKYO : Shares in Asahi Group Holdings surged on Wednesday after the Japanese beermaker announced its first price increases for canned beer in 14 years and a range of other price hikes to cope with rising costs.

Retail prices on 162 items, mostly beer products, will rise between 6 per cent and 10 per cent from Oct. 1, reflecting increasing costs for materials, energy, and transportation, it said on Tuesday after the market closed.

After decades of deflation in Japan, consumer price pressures have mounted as the cost of fuel and other commodities soar in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and due to logistical snags caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Asahi's stock climbed 5 per cent in morning trade, outperforming a 1.9 per cent drop in the benchmark Nikkei index.

Rivals Kirin Holdings Co and Sapporo Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday they are considering price increases but have not made a decision yet.

A Suntory Holdings Ltd spokesperson said the company had no comment, noting the company's last prices changes for its alcoholic products were in October 2020.

Asahi is Japan's biggest beer maker, commanding nearly 40 per cent of the market.