Impact of Adverse Weather on Agricultural Production and Sales

「Meanwhile, overseas production of frozen vegetables fell sharply due to weather conditions, while sales of sweets to convenience stores were affected by fewer product adoptions and deteriorating product profitability, resulting in sluggish performance overall.」

「In the Agribusiness, poor crop growth and unstable market prices continued in the agricultural products and processing fields, mainly in Hokkaido. However, the retail produce business performed steadily, supported by a nationwide recovery in customer traffic as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided and the contribution from opening new agricultural produce direct-sales outlets.」

「In the agriculture business, the agricultural direct-sales business operated by ㈱プラス in the Kansai region, newly consolidated from November 2021, performed well. However, the wholesale and processing of fresh produce was affected by a poor harvest of some agricultural products in Hokkaido.」

「In the agricultural products and processing business, which cultivates, processes and sells vegetables, results were also significantly affected by lower market prices following bumper crops of key products, including Hokkaido potatoes and pumpkins.」

「In addition, the ham, delicatessen and sweets businesses were affected by intensifying market competition, while the agriculture and processing businesses, which cultivate, process and sell vegetables, were also heavily affected by lower market prices resulting from a bumper harvest of their core product, Hokkaido-grown vegetables.」

「The beverage business fell below the same period of the previous year due to continued lower temperatures than normal, sluggish contract manufacturing, and higher energy and labor costs.」

「The processing and wholesale segment remained firm. Although insufficient sunlight led to poor harvests of vegetables in Hokkaido, including pumpkins, the company worked to secure procurement volumes.」

「The processing and wholesale segment was affected by lower market prices for potatoes and other products than in the previous fiscal year, as well as poor harvests of other vegetables due to insufficient sunlight and other factors. However, firm sales of processed products such as grated daikon supported an overall flat performance.」

「The agricultural business was affected by insufficient arrivals of crops due to unfavourable weather and by soaring prices, while in the summer, favourable weather produced a bumper harvest that led to depressed prices.」

「The agricultural products business was affected in the fresh produce retail sector by insufficient arrivals of leafy vegetables and other products due to unsettled weather, as well as by higher prices. This was offset in the agricultural processing sector by greater efficiency and productivity in vegetable processing, including through capital investment.」

「In the agricultural business, although the effects of typhoon damage that occurred in Hokkaido in the previous fiscal year remained in terms of raw-material procurement, the wholesale and processing business for fresh produce performed steadily as a result of efforts to improve the efficiency and productivity of vegetable processing.」

「The agricultural business was significantly affected in the procurement and quality of raw materials when typhoons struck Hokkaido, its main production region, during the harvest season, resulting in an unprecedentedly poor harvest. The company worked to offset these difficult conditions by improving the efficiency and productivity of vegetable processing.」

「The agricultural business, which handles vegetable cultivation and procurement, distribution, processing, and retailing, worked to offset the impact of a typhoon that caused extensive damage to Hokkaido's agricultural areas through measures including more efficient processing.」

「Difficulty procuring corn, squash, carrots and other vegetables in Hokkaido, which suffered severe typhoon damage during the harvest season, continued, ultimately causing procurement volumes to fall 20% to 30% below normal.」

「Although continuing adverse weather conditions in some regions have raised concerns about their potential impact on this year's crop, both sales volume and prices remained generally firm in the fresh produce distribution business.」