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Fujifilm Japan has published a notice on its website informing consumers that there could be forthcoming shortages of its three remaining 120 format color reversal slide film stocks.
According to the notice, first spotted by Kosmo Foto and embedded below, FujiChrome Velvia 50, Velvia 100 and Provia 100F in 120 format could see shortages as a result of issues procuring sufficient amounts of raw materials used to create the film. It isn’t clear what materials in particular are becoming difficult to procure, but considering this is, at least for now, limited to the company’s slide film, it would be a reasonable guess to say it’s something specific to color reversal slide film production. The alternative rationale is that Fujifilm’s slide film doesn’t sell as well as the company’s other 120 films, so the company is instead diverting the supply-limited raw materials to its more popular films to reduce the impact.
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| The full text of Fujifilm Japan’s announcement. |
It’s unclear how long this reduction is supply is expected to go on, but Fujifilm doesn’t appear to be too concerned this is a permanent issue, saying (machine-translated) ‘will continue to take measures to ensure a stable supply of products as soon as possible.’
This news comes on the heels of Fujifilm’s price increase announcement last month, which will see film stock prices increase by up to 60% later this month. Fujifilm cited higher raw supply prices, increased transportation expenses and ‘a decline in demand’ as the reasons for the price increases, saying the company has worked ‘hard to absorb costs by improving production efficiency and saving costs,’ but ultimately can’t bear the increased costs through ‘corporate efforts’ alone.
Author:
Gannon Burgett
Source: Dpreview
