Japanese snacks go black-and-white: Why Iran war is driving up ink prices

The US-Israeli war on Iran is draining the colour from Japan’s supermarket shelves, with the biggest crisp makers swapping once-vibrant packaging for monochrome as a result of a shortage of ink. Tokyo-based Calbee, one of the most popular brands in the snack market, has said it will – at least temporarily – switch to using black and white on the packaging of 14 of its products, including its Calbee Potato Chips. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list Calbee is just one of many Japanese companies attempting to minimise the fallout from the faraway war in Iran, which has triggered a global supply shock. Since the end of February, when the war began, the Strait of Hormuz , through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is shipped during peacetime, has been effectively shut. The closure of the strait has affected Japan, which imports 40 percent of its naphtha, an oil derivative needed to make printing ink, from the Middle East. So, why is the Iran war driving up ink prices? And will crisp packets be colourful again? What have Japanese companies said? In a statement, Calbee said its decision to switch to black-and-white packaging was a response to “supply instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East”. “This measure is intended to help maintain a stable supply of products,” the company stated, adding that the new products would roll out on May 25. …