For those with a sweet tooth, Shiroi Koibito products are an automatic favourite. Their iconic chocolate cookies often make for a great afternoon snack.
Source: Japanese Station on Facebook
Unfortunately, there’s a bit of bad news headed our way.
The sale of Shiroi Koibito products has stopped, due to a shortage of eggs.
According to an official media release from Ishiya Confectionery Co., Ltd, the sale of Shiroi Koibito cookies and sandwiches have stopped for the time being.
The company made the announcement on 23 Jan, informing the public of the suspension of other products too.
In the media release, they explained that it would be difficult to maintain the same production volume for the products.
While some souvenir shops have reportedly continued to sell them, a public relations official said the continued shortage of eggs will make such sales difficult, Jiji reports.
Ishiya Confectionery noted that the shortage in supplies occurred from the spread of avian flu which has been impacting countries worldwide since last year, including Japan.
Source: Open Grid Scheduler/Grid Engine on Flickr
According to Shin Min Daily News, the epidemic resulted in the culling of nearly 15 million chickens in Japan, exceeding 9.87 million in 2020.
With the price of chicken feed soaring, this has caused the wholesale price of eggs to spike as well.
Medium-sized eggs in Tokyo cost about S$3.33 (335 yen) per kg, 1.86 times of the original price last year. This is apparently the highest recorded price in history.
Kewpie, which sells processed egg products to companies, said they would be restraining egg shipments during a product briefing, Jiji reports.
They shared that the shortage and rising prices might likely continue and companies using eggs might scale back their products or stop shipping it entirely.
Ishiya Confectionery apparently isn’t the only firm forced to suspend sales in light of the shortage.
7-Eleven stores in Japan have suspended the sale of products such as 7 Premium Soft-Boiled Eggs, J-Cast states.
Source: Entabe
Speaking to Jiji, the manager of a sandwich shop noted how difficult production had become recently.
His company, which typically uses 20 tonnes of boiled eggs every month, now has to make do with half that amount for double the price.
Conversely, a convenience store in Japan has been doing its best to tackle the situation without stopping sales entirely.
According to J-Cast, FamilyMart claimed to increase the amount of egg in its sandwiches and sold more within a limited period of time, between 17 Jan and 13 Feb.
They charged 248 yen (S$2.47) allegedly for 20% more egg, though the portion is reportedly the same as before.
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Featured image adapted from Takaski and @marjanblan on Unsplash.
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