Deterioration in the Business Environment Due to an Economic Slowdown, Yen Appreciation and Weaker Consumer Sentiment

「In the meat industry, consumers continue to favor saving and low prices. Although prices have been supported by a shift in demand toward lower-priced products, costs for raw materials, labor, transportation and other items continue to rise, and it remains difficult to secure earnings.」

「In the meat industry, fuel and raw material prices remain elevated, while consumer demand has shifted toward lower-priced products, resulting in higher pork and chicken prices. Labour and transportation costs have also continued to rise, and the difficulty of securing profitability has persisted.」

「Consumers continue to prefer saving money and lower-priced products, while higher labour and transportation costs and persistently elevated fuel and raw material prices have made it difficult to secure profitability.」

「In the meat industry, as the impact of higher raw material and logistics costs continued for an extended period, consumers' cost-saving and low-price preferences made it difficult to pass higher costs and other expenses on to retail prices, and the difficulty of securing profits persisted.」

「During the interim consolidated accounting period under review, the Japanese economy was on a gradual recovery trend, supported by growth in domestic demand and the recovery and expansion of inbound demand. However, concerns remained that the domestic economy could cool again because of rising domestic interest rates and a slowdown in overseas economies. In the meat industry, the environment remained challenging, as consumers' stronger preference for saving made it difficult to pass higher costs and other expenses on to retail prices and secure profitability.」

「Although many companies implemented base-pay increases, real wages have not risen. As a result, consumers in the meat industry have become even more focused on saving money, making it difficult to secure profitability.」

「In the meat industry, profitability has continued to deteriorate as higher raw material and logistics costs have not been fully passed on to product prices because consumers are increasingly focused on saving money.」

「During the first nine months of the fiscal year under review, the Japanese economy appeared to remain on a gradual recovery trend, supported by firm domestic demand and recovering inbound demand despite concerns over exchange-rate fluctuations and high crude oil prices. The meat industry faced a challenging operating environment because of higher raw material costs resulting from the yen's depreciation and rising logistics expenses.」

「During the first six months of the fiscal year under review, the Japanese economy was gradually recovering as economic activity, which had stagnated during the COVID-19 pandemic, began to pick up. However, although the recovery in personal consumption and inbound demand was a positive factor for the meat industry, it continued to struggle to secure profits because of soaring prices in general and the yen's depreciation.」

「During the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, the Japanese economy appeared to be generally recovering as the impact of COVID-19 weakened and social life gradually normalised. However, although the recovery in inbound demand was a positive factor for the meat industry, it is struggling to secure profitability because of soaring prices in general and the yen's depreciation.」

「However, in addition to the rise in prices in general that had been under way for some time, the supply crisis affecting energy and raw materials stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with the yen's depreciation, has cast uncertainty over the outlook for the Japanese economy.」

「Meanwhile, soaring prices caused by the unstable international situation are placing increasing pressure on people's lives. In the meat industry, securing profitability became extremely difficult because of higher meat raw material prices and logistics costs.」

「However, prices in general are continuing to rise amid the unstable international situation and the yen's depreciation, placing increasing pressure on people's lives. As Japanese society as a whole struggles with higher costs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the meat industry to generate profits.」

「During the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, the Japanese economy remained in a difficult situation. Although the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy was gradually diminishing as a result of government measures since the lifting of the intensive prevention measures on 21 March, energy and other prices rose amid the unstable international situation, while the yen depreciated sharply. In the meat industry, signs of recovery were visible in the food-service business, but the overall outlook remained uncertain because of soaring raw material prices and sluggish consumer sentiment.」

「Raw material and energy prices, which had been gradually rising, may soar further as a result of the unstable social situation. Stable procurement of these materials may also become more difficult.」

「The number of COVID-19 cases in Japan began to decline, and the fourth state of emergency was lifted nationwide on 1 October. Although economic activity is gradually recovering as a result, rising logistics and raw-material costs are hampering the recovery.」

「The meat industry was also heavily affected, primarily by weak performance in the food-service and leisure sectors.」

「During the first 3 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy appeared increasingly polarized between regions and business formats severely affected by restrictions and those relatively unaffected, amid an extremely unstable situation in which the spread of COVID-19 and containment through activity restrictions alternated. In the meat industry, tourism and food-service businesses suffered under restrictions on operations due to states of emergency and other measures, while the prepared-food and retail formats remained relatively solid.」

「The operating environment is expected to remain severe due to the shrinking scale of meat demand resulting from Japan's declining birthrate and aging population, strong interest in food safety, and issues concerning the stability of the international food supply and demand.」

「Although consumption had begun to recover due in part to the implementation of the Go To campaign, the renewed spread of infections is bringing that recovery to a halt. In the meat industry, we have struggled to respond to differences in changes in the operating environment and in required measures across sectors such as retail, food service, and tourism.」

「During the first 3 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy fell into an unprecedented crisis across many industries due to the spread of COVID-19. In the meat industry, although the impact varied by business format, high-end products were particularly affected by travel restrictions from overseas and widespread requests for businesses to suspend operations.」

「In the meat industry, earnings have continued to be pressured by higher distribution costs, labor costs, and other expenses. In addition, the industry is expected to face the difficult task of responding to changes in consumption patterns caused by COVID-19.」

「During the first 9 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy remained generally sluggish amid unstable international economic conditions resulting from the U.S.-China struggle for dominance, while consumer sentiment was weakened domestically by the consumption tax increase. In the meat industry, severe conditions continued due to low prices and higher labor and logistics costs.」

「During the first 6 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy remained at the mercy of international issues, including the U.S.-China trade imbalance and political instability in East Asia and the Middle East. Uncertainty about the future became widespread because it was unclear how the consumption tax increase and other factors would affect the domestic economy. In the meat industry, despite differences among individual companies, profit margins generally remained under pressure from deflationary forces.」

「During the first 3 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy remained somewhat sluggish due to lower export volumes resulting from intensifying trade friction and soaring labor costs. Uncertainty about the economy increased amid concerns that consumption would decline when the consumption tax rate was raised in October. The meat industry also continued to face severe conditions due to unstable factors such as difficulties in procuring raw materials and labor shortages.」

「The operating environment surrounding the meat industry is becoming increasingly severe due to higher raw-material and distribution costs and difficulties in recruiting workers.」

「During the first 9 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy remained generally sluggish due to unseasonable weather and disasters from summer to autumn and higher costs caused by rising crude oil prices. However, signs of recovery emerged in the latter half of the period due to the recovery in inbound demand and reconstruction demand. In the meat industry, declining consumer appetite due to the above-mentioned unseasonable weather and disasters, deteriorating profitability caused by soaring labor costs, and intensifying competition were challenges.」

「However, cost pressures such as higher raw-material and labor costs, together with concerns about an international trade war, mean that the situation remains unpredictable. In the meat industry, instability in the international food supply-demand balance continues to make it difficult to maintain stable operations.」

「However, higher costs for resources such as crude oil and for labor have made it impossible to characterize the situation as one of stable growth.」

「In the meat industry, the operating environment is fluid due to higher raw-material and distribution costs and changes in employment conditions, requiring the ability to respond to change.」

「During the first 9 months of the fiscal year, corporate performance remained solid, supported by resilient domestic and external demand, but personal consumption recovered only slowly, partly due to sluggish wage growth. In the meat industry, consumer appetite was weakened by prolonged yen depreciation and higher raw-material prices resulting from climate change.」

「During the first 6 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy appeared to be generally recovering gradually, supported by solid corporate performance and improving employment conditions, despite lingering concerns about the international political situation. However, in the meat industry, instability in the international food supply-demand balance continued to make it difficult to maintain stable operations.」

「In the meat industry, the operating environment is becoming increasingly severe because consumer sentiment has been slow to recover.」

「During the fiscal year, the Japanese economy appeared to be generally recovering, but the outlook remained uncertain due to changes in the international environment, including political instability in Europe and the United States and a slowdown in the Chinese economy. In the meat industry, a severe operating environment continued due to prolonged weakness in domestic consumer appetite, long-term shortages of food resources, and intensifying sales competition.」

「During the first 9 months of the fiscal year, the Japanese economy appeared to be gradually recovering overall, with corporate performance remaining solid, but consumer sentiment had yet to improve. The meat industry was affected by declining consumer appetite due to concerns about the outlook. In addition, concerns about higher raw-material prices resulting from yen depreciation were a source of uncertainty.」

「The global economic slowdown has continued, and the yen has appreciated since the beginning of the year, putting pressure on corporate earnings. Personal consumption has also remained sluggish, with little growth, and the overall economy has been generally stagnant. In the meat industry, consumer sentiment remained depressed due to concerns about the outlook, exposing the industry to a severe environment.」