U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.
I grew up poor. Eggs were always a cheap source of protein. Peanuts and chicken also fall into the category of cheap protein. Eggs are unreasonably expensive at the moment. Beans and peanuts are still cheap and there are meats like pork and beef that aren’t affected by bird flu. It seems like the same bullshit here in Japan with the rice prices. It was 900 yen for 5kg of rice until last year when they jacked it up to over 3500 yen and now it’s 5000 yen. The price went up 5X in a year and there is no shortage. You can always find rice in the store. There have been tariffs on foreign rice for decades. It seems like Japanese and Americans are not so different. The corporations rip us off and we just bend over and take it.
The price went up 5X in a year and there is no shortage. You can always find rice in the store.
I can’t find the link, but there was a big online discussion about this phenomenon. There is a shortage at the wholesale level. And it’s reshaping how these basic commodities are distributed. You don’t see it because you’re high enough on the income pyramid that “shortage” is revealed as “higher price to discourage consumption” rather than “oops, none left”.
But I’m willing to bet you’re going to see certain manufacturers that consume large volumes of lower grade rice (rice candy, rice alcohol, etc) taking a huge hit as their nearly-free commodity dries up.
Either way, there’s stock on the shelves in no small part because bulk buyers are being priced out.
The other problem is that regardless of whether the shortage is real or propaganda, the Japanese government makes it very difficult to buy foreign rice. Imported rice could provide relief but you can’t find it. I have access to shop on US bases because I’m a veteran. There is high quality US grown short grain rice, which is what the Japanese prefer, for about 500 yen a kilogram. And long grain California rice and Thai rice that is much cheaper, but not as tasty as short grain rice. Japan could make more imported rice available but then the farmers in Japan wouldn’t be able to fail to meet the country’s food demand and get rewarded with more money. New weather patterns from climate change require farmers to grow more heat resistant strains of rice. The farmers, in typical Japanese fashion, would rather have a root canal with no anesthetic than change even the smallest thing.
The rich and powerful all over the world sold us the lie that they were ordained by “god,” to be the most fit to rule, and even after we have removed most of the kings and emperors, that lie persists.
I grew up poor. Eggs were always a cheap source of protein. Peanuts and chicken also fall into the category of cheap protein. Eggs are unreasonably expensive at the moment. Beans and peanuts are still cheap and there are meats like pork and beef that aren’t affected by bird flu. It seems like the same bullshit here in Japan with the rice prices. It was 900 yen for 5kg of rice until last year when they jacked it up to over 3500 yen and now it’s 5000 yen. The price went up 5X in a year and there is no shortage. You can always find rice in the store. There have been tariffs on foreign rice for decades. It seems like Japanese and Americans are not so different. The corporations rip us off and we just bend over and take it.
I can’t find the link, but there was a big online discussion about this phenomenon. There is a shortage at the wholesale level. And it’s reshaping how these basic commodities are distributed. You don’t see it because you’re high enough on the income pyramid that “shortage” is revealed as “higher price to discourage consumption” rather than “oops, none left”.
But I’m willing to bet you’re going to see certain manufacturers that consume large volumes of lower grade rice (rice candy, rice alcohol, etc) taking a huge hit as their nearly-free commodity dries up.
Either way, there’s stock on the shelves in no small part because bulk buyers are being priced out.
The other problem is that regardless of whether the shortage is real or propaganda, the Japanese government makes it very difficult to buy foreign rice. Imported rice could provide relief but you can’t find it. I have access to shop on US bases because I’m a veteran. There is high quality US grown short grain rice, which is what the Japanese prefer, for about 500 yen a kilogram. And long grain California rice and Thai rice that is much cheaper, but not as tasty as short grain rice. Japan could make more imported rice available but then the farmers in Japan wouldn’t be able to fail to meet the country’s food demand and get rewarded with more money. New weather patterns from climate change require farmers to grow more heat resistant strains of rice. The farmers, in typical Japanese fashion, would rather have a root canal with no anesthetic than change even the smallest thing.
The rich and powerful all over the world sold us the lie that they were ordained by “god,” to be the most fit to rule, and even after we have removed most of the kings and emperors, that lie persists.