By Elaine Lies, and Akiko Okamoto

TOKYO, Reuters – RyuIshihara will soon raise the price of his soba noodles. Rising costs and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine are taking a toll on Japan’s beloved buckwheat noodles.

Although considered to be one of the best Japanese food, it’s also eaten as a New Year’s Eve meal for luck.

Russian buckwheat is still possible to import, however shipping problems and instability have delayed and hampered its procurement. Ishihara, a soba shop owner, is already feeling the pinch as the global rise in commodity prices and the fall of the yen has caused prices to climb.

Costs of flour, soy sauce and other tempura topping ingredients, along with the vegetable garnishes, have all gone up.

Although suppliers made every effort to minimize the impact of this situation, it’s impossible for them to keep prices from rising. Ishihara spoke in his small shop with steaming water vessels behind him, stating that certain items will need to be increased by 10% to 15%.

Soba is a popular cheap dish that can be served hot or cold. It’s often consumed quickly by students and workers in small shops, which may reduce costs by not having seats. Because of their low calories, and rich in vitamins and minerals, they are healthy.

Ishihara prices range from 290 to $2.25, up to 550. Add-ons like tempura or sets with rice can increase the price.

“Now, because of the war, it has become more expensive to import the buckwheat,” he stated.

Japan Soba Association reports that despite the iconic nature of soba, Japan only produced 42% in 2020. Imports fill the gap, with Russia being the third-largest source from 2018 of buckwheat.

Russia moved up to No. 2 in 2021. China was no longer the second largest country. 1.

Japan’s currency plunged 20 percent to record lows while the Soviet Union invaded Ukraine. It has been made more difficult for some accounts to be settled by sanctions and crackdowns against the Russian banking system.

This has caused headaches for both soba millers and importers, such as Hua Yue from Nikkoku Seifun Co Ltd (Matsumoto), a city located in Nagano’s traditional soba-producing region.

She imports buckwheat from Russia as well as China in 800-to 1,000-tonne bags, but she was unable to specify exact quantities or percentages.

The biggest issues so far have been delays, a 30% increase in Russian buckwheat’s price over the past six months. However, this is partly due to an import stoppage that occurred last year.

Russia being the main producer of half of world’s buckwheat means that problems will cause demand to shift to China, which is second largest. Prices are expected to go up further as China reduces buckwheat output every year.

It may be more difficult to find soba restaurants at a low price,” she said.

Ishihara’s most loyal customers, like Keidai Furuhara, who arrives twice weekly, can take the higher prices with a grain of salt. They may not have the same limits as they.

The 27-year old office worker stated that “it’ll still all be alright.” That is, provided the price stays at 500 yen.

($1 = 128.65 yen)