Calbee Switches 14 Products To Black-And-White Packaging As Iran War Disrupts Ink Supplies

Japanese snack maker Calbee said it will temporarily switch to black-and-white packaging for 14 products, including crisps and prawn crackers, with the new-style packets starting to appear in shops in Japan from 25 May.

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Al Arabiya English

Calbee linked the change to “supply instability affecting raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East,” and said the measure is intended to help maintain a stable supply of products.

BBC

The company said it has been unable to procure some materials used in inks for packaging, and the BBC tied the disruption to supplies of naphtha, a byproduct of oil refining used in ink and plastics.

The BBC reported that oil and gas prices surged since the conflict started on 28 February as shipments through the Strait of Hormuz halted, and that naphtha prices in Asia have almost doubled since the conflict started.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato told reporters on Tuesday that Japan had not received reports of immediate supply disruption for printing ink or naphtha and that Japan as a whole had secured the quantities required.

Sato also said domestic refining operations continue using stockpiled crude oil, while imports from outside the Middle East have increased since the conflict escalated.

Business Insider

The Economic Times said around 40% of Japan’s naphtha consumption depends on imports from the region, and the BBC reported that before the war around 40% of Japan's naphtha was imported from the Middle East.

The Guardian described the packaging shift as forced by disrupted supplies of naphtha, an ink ingredient derived from petroleum, and said Calbee would switch 14 products to monochrome branding by the end of May.

The BBC said the everyday goods impact is part of a wider pattern after Iran effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz waterway in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes on the country.

“- A popular potato chip maker in Japan is turning its snack bags black and white due to naphtha shortages”

Business Insider

It reported that in recent weeks companies around the world warned that supply disruptions to things like fuel, plastics and helium are pushing up costs for businesses, and it cited examples including Mizkan suspending sales of some products and raising prices for others due to a shortage of polystyrene containers.

The Sunday Guardian said the problem could be caused by shortages of the petroleum byproduct naphtha and described the Iran war as disrupting oil and gas shipments that cross the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for worldwide energy supply.

As a consequence of the ink and naphtha squeeze, Calbee told outlets that it would temporarily use only two ink colors on 14 of its products, and the BBC said the design change is a response to supply instability affecting raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.