TOKYO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan's leading snack maker Calbee is set to change some of its product packaging to stripped-down black-and-white designs due to a tighter supply of crude oil-derived naphtha stemming from the Middle East conflict, local media has reported.
The temporary bicolor packaging is scheduled to begin later this month and will cover some of the company's main products, including its popular potato chips, Kyodo News reported on Monday.
Naphtha is a critical feedstock for the chemical industry, and its shortages in Japan have rippled downstream, squeezing the supplies of solvents and resins used in printing ink.
While Calbee's regular packaging typically features vivid images set against colorful backgrounds such as orange or yellow, unstable procurement of printing ink and other materials has forced the company to adopt simpler designs instead.
Although Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had previously said that the country was on track to maintain enough naphtha-derived chemical products to last beyond the end of the year, following efforts to diversify imports outside the Middle East amid ongoing regional conflict, actual conditions in the market and across the industry appear to tell a different story.
According to public broadcaster NHK, some industry groups representing confectionery manufacturers have received multiple inquiries regarding difficulties in procuring printing ink for packaging.
A survey released in late April by an association representing industries and consumer groups, cited by Kyodo News, found that over 70 percent of roughly 100 companies polled would likely pass on costs to consumers if naphtha supply worries continue. ■
