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Price of rice in Japan falls below ¥4k per 5kg

(www.japantimes.co.jp)
126 points PaulHoule | 1 comments | 30 Jun 25 19:54 UTC | HN request time: 0.199s | source
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ggm ◴[30 Jun 25 23:36 UTC] No.44429069[source]▶
Some amount of price control makes sense for strategic defensive reasons: Japan isn't self sufficient in food but like many other economies wants to ensure a viable farming sector.

I'm not sure this amount of price control is needed for that outcome. From TV I get the impression Japanese rice production is pretty intensive, but also small plot focussed so not as efficient as Australia where it's miles and miles of field to the horizon.

Maybe Japanese rice farmers are a protected species?

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refulgentis ◴[01 Jul 25 00:00 UTC] No.44429223[source]▶
I'm confused, you open by noting the clear case for protection, and close by asking if protection describes the pricing. Maybe you perceive price controls and protection as separate? Price controls are a way to implement protection.
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ggm ◴[01 Jul 25 00:27 UTC] No.44429388[source]▶
I'm asking how much. We have a ring-fenced dairy sector and ring fenced apple sector in Australia, biosecurity typically defines the protectionism. We don't pay this level of excess for milk, cheese and apples.

You could give direct income support to rice farmers and not recover it by insane pricing for Japanese rice.

If memory serves, the whale meat was virtually given away but by no means cost nothing to hunt, flense and store.

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1. fc417fc802 ◴[01 Jul 25 02:21 UTC] No.44429989[source]▶
Farm subsidies does seem like the well tested approach. A lot of people in the US complain about them but I quite like having the option of some ridiculously low cost staples if I'm willing to forgo quality. Placing the burden on the taxpayers as a whole seems like the right approach for things like food security.