Impact of Weather and Abnormal Weather on Demand and Procurement

「In the environmental products business, shipments of large ceiling fans, primarily for logistics facilities, increased substantially. This was driven by rising demand for improved air-conditioning efficiency due to the extremely hot summer and higher energy costs, as well as greater awareness resulting from active participation in trade shows.」

「Revenue increased year on year, supported by favorable weather during the long holiday period and the extremely hot summer.」

「In addition, the market continued to expand, affected by the extremely hot summer and warm weather that lasted into early autumn.」

「In the soft-drink market, human mobility increased against the backdrop of the reclassification of COVID-19 as a Class 5 infectious disease and other factors. However, consumption slowed as beverage manufacturers raised product prices due to soaring energy and raw material costs, leading consumers to restrain purchases, while unfavorable weather also had an impact. The market environment is therefore expected to remain challenging.」

「In addition, the easing of restrictions on activities supported the recovery in customer numbers at restaurants and leisure facilities, increasing demand for commercial ice cream and showing signs of improved profitability. Meanwhile, manufacturers are promoting product development to meet new needs, but difficult conditions for securing profitability continue due to rising manufacturing costs, including raw material, water and utility costs.」

「In the beverage market, consumer activity was on a recovery trend due to increased human mobility resulting from measures to prevent COVID-19 and other factors, as well as the effects of extremely hot summer weather. However, consumption slowed as consumers restrained purchases after prices were raised in October.」

「In the soft-drink market, shipment volumes increased from the previous fiscal year due to the recovery in foot traffic as COVID-19 vaccinations progressed, as well as the effects of extremely hot summer weather.」

「During the consolidated fiscal year, the soft-drink market was on a recovery trend as the number of COVID-19 cases temporarily declined and human mobility increased. However, due to unfavorable summer weather and the renewed spread of infections involving variants, shipment volumes remained only marginally higher.」

「Due to unfavorable weather in summer, including record prolonged rain and localized torrential rain, negative growth continued from the previous year and conditions remained challenging.」

「Sales volumes of beverage products remained sluggish due to depressed consumption caused by people refraining from going out and the effects of unfavorable weather. Sales volumes of processed agricultural products, such as food secondary ingredients and tea products, as well as sterilized milk, fell below the same period of the previous year.」

「In the beverage market, beverage manufacturers have continued to face challenging operating conditions because demand for beverages in small PET bottles has declined due to the impact of COVID-19, including people refraining from going out and working from home, and because sales were affected by unfavorable weather such as record prolonged rain and localized torrential rain in July.」

「Conditions remained challenging, with sales volumes recording negative growth for the first time in 5 years due to the effects of record prolonged rain and a cool summer in July.」

「Going forward, efforts by individual countries to secure food supplies are expected to be further strengthened amid soaring raw material prices, tight food supply-demand conditions due to strong demand in emerging economies, and fluctuations in agricultural product prices caused by climate change.」

「In the beverage market, beverage manufacturers are promoting the strengthening of priority brands and the development of products with new added value in order to meet increasingly diverse consumer needs. However, challenging operating conditions continue due to the effects of weather and fierce sales competition among manufacturers.」

「Changes in the supply-demand balance for agricultural products due to rising incomes in emerging economies and climate change, including abnormal weather, have intensified efforts by individual countries to secure food supplies, and these efforts are expected to become increasingly intense.」

「In particular, in addition to being affected by abnormal weather such as cool summers, warm winters and prolonged rain, the business is also affected by adverse weather such as typhoons. If poor harvests occur at production sites in Japan and overseas due to unfavorable weather, procurement prices for raw materials are expected to rise, while shortages of the required quantities could result in lost sales opportunities.」