Japan to raise whiskey prices by up to 125%

Suntory Hibiki 30 Years Old

The price of Japanese whiskey, which has recently seen a surge in overseas exports, is set to rise significantly. As production fails to keep up with demand and shortages continues, Japanese companies are responding with major price hikes.

According to Japanese media reports on Wednesday, Japanese food and beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd. announced the day before that it would raise the prices of 19 types of its domestically produced premium whiskeys by 20 percent to 125 percent from April 1, 2024.

Accordingly, a 700-milliliter bottle of the company’s Yamazaki 12 Years Old and Hakushu 12 Years Old will see a 50 percent price increase to 15,000 yen ($100.31) from 10,000 yen. The prices of Yamazaki and Hakushu without age indications will increase by 56 percent to 7,000 yen from 4,500 yen.

Premium whiskey products are also expected to see even more significant price hikes. The 700ml bottle prices of Hibiki 30 Years Old, Yamazaki 25 Years Old, and Hakushu 25 Years Old are anticipated to rise by 125 percent to 360,000 yen from the current 160,000 yen.

Suntory said that prices for imported whiskeys and wines will also be increased, with the company already raising the prices of some whiskey items in April 2022.

Suntory blamed the price hike on costs associated with improving brand value and whisky quality, as well as capital investment to improve manufacturing capacity. The Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, analyzed that the recent popularity of Japanese whiskey overseas and the time-consuming nature of whiskey brewing continue to cause shortages.

According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the value of Japanese whiskey exports hit 56 billion yen in 2022, a 22-fold increase over the past decade and a seven-fold surge in terms of volume.

South Korea has also emerged as a major consumer of Japanese whiskey, with the country’s imports of Japanese whiskey surging as young Koreans enjoy “highballs,” a drink made with sparkling water and tonic. According to data from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute, Korea’s cumulative imports of Japanese whiskey from January to July 2023 totaled $5.26 million, up 135 percent from $2.24 million during the same period a year earlier.

The Japanese whiskey market had been shrinking in size, with shipments peaking in 1983 before the bubble burst, but saw a resurgence after the release of “Highball” in 2008, gaining popularity in Japan and abroad.