Milking the cash cow
Written by: adekun on 10 August, 2008 4:08 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »
A couple of months back there was a report on the cash crisis. An American mother was in tears complaining milk being at the same price as gasoline? Although disparate in the UK, it made me recall dairy farmers protesting against their diminishing share of the end retail price.
I can understand cost increases being passed through, but do wonder if it’s all a bit off-kilter. Here in Japan, something that doesn’t need a reminder is the cost of food.
In one of the less affluent prefectures I’m thoroughly disgusted at the following:
- Milk c. ¥250 a litre
- Butter ¥408 for 200g (naturally the shelf was bare).
- Imported Devon cream 170ml just under ¥2000. That’s almost a tenner in English money.
- Grated ‘Pizza’ cheese 320g ¥688
- Cheese 100g around ¥500
It’s not just dairy products. The overpriced ¥300 Japanese garlic is now suddenly ¥400 a head. Is this a fair reflection of cost? Are you taking the Michael? Perhaps what I should come to terms with is that it price isn’t an issue. People now are so dependant that if that’s the price then it shall be paid with little more than a grumble - at best. The corporations are at liberty to charge what they like and there will be no riot.
Out with the old and in with the old
Written by: adekun on 2 August, 2008 6:35 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »
Today sees ailing Prime Minister Fukuda’s new cabinet inaugurated. The forbearing Japanese can now look forward to a raft of reforms instead of the usual dithering and inaction. If the latest reshuffle doesn’t upset the apple cart, the golden age may last until next September when an equally dynamic team get elected.
Long live the gerontocracy!
34th G8 Summit
Written by: adekun on 6 July, 2008 10:54 pm - Filed under: blog — 4 Comments »
As world leaders arrive for the G8 summit so has the warmer weather. Down in Kyūshū it was over 36°C. In Hokkaido, a key point on the agenda is rising costs. Even the ‘cost’ of hosting the event is up with the Japanese government splashing out a cool £285m, half of which is on security. According to The Guardian it is perhaps is a little less lavish than the last the country hosted:
Japan is touting Lake Toya as the “compact” summit in an attempt to banish memories of Okinawa 2000, an 80bn-yen orgy of excess during which the leaders lunched on Beluga caviar and foie gras while Jacques Chirac held court on his love of sumo wrestling. The lesson does not seem to have been learned: this week 60 top chefs will prepare the leaders’ meals, although the menu and its cost are closely guarded secrets.
This year’s resort sits 625m atop a mountain looking like something from a Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation production. (more…)
Butter my arse
Written by: adekun on 30 May, 2008 10:06 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »
Towards the end of March notices appeared above the empty butter shelves. The general theme was an apology from the supermarket manager saying they are unsure when the next delivery will be. Although it hasn’t been the most fervent of searches, Monday brought an end to over a month without any respite. I spotted a few blocks. They must have just had a delivery and I was in the right place at the right time. A steal I thought at ¥368 for a scant 200 g. Along with the ridiculously priced apples and flour, pie making will have to wait (probably indefinitely). I also spotted seven cherries for ¥298.
There have been many stories covering this phenomenon. Hashimoto an official at the Ministry of Agriculture was quoted “Drought in Australia which pushed up the cost of cattle feed and bulging demand for butter elsewhere in Asia are making butter imports more expensive and shoppers are turning to made in Japan butter. The bottom line is, however, butter is not our staple food. Personally, I can happily switch to margarine.”
I don’t understand the mechanics but there quite a bit more going on. Why aren’t other countries facing similar problems?
Back in 2006 there was a bit of a glut. Being tightly controlled by the government the dairy farmers were forced to buy back their milk (or their cow’s milk) and pour it down the drain. Many cows were knocked on the head. There are similar issues with stockpiles of skimmed milk a by-product of the butter making process. Now that world’s traditional exporters are at the point of importing or diverting elsewhere, the big corporations have turned to raiding the domestic larder of fresh milk to produce the more lucrative coffee drinks, cheeses etc.
So why not import some butter? There is the tariff hurdle the bureaucrats fail to mention. The latest figure I can find, published a year ago is 29.8% plus ¥1159 per kg. I’ve seen total tariff figures of 700-800% mentioned. I couldn’t find any import prices, even rough figures based MDC Datum worldwide wholesale prices, works out to close to 500% last May and 350% this month (given the rises), making the above seem credible.
Even if the now sceptical farmers look to increase their flock, the earliest Heifers can calve at 24 months (needing extra costly feed). While there many agricultural tariffs in place, the WTO is being lobbied to prevent poorer (and starving) countries curbing their exports. There is talk on raising the self sufficiency rate here, what about sustainability without subsidies?
Nine out of ten Japanese prefer pasta
Written by: adekun on 11 May, 2008 7:21 pm - Filed under: blog — 3 Comments »
Price rise announcements are now a common precursor to each month. Earlier in the year there were reports of Japan’s WPI being at a 27 year high and CPI being hitting decade highs. In a country where the economy is as stagnant as the wages, cost-driven inflation is really spanner in the works. Being so hideously short on natural resources you would think it prudent that the country not to be reliant on something that can be grown at home.* Japan’s food self sufficiency has fallen to a meagre 39%. Despite this there is still a surplus of the tightly controlled rice. Rather than relay my own thoughts and experiences this article sums it up much better and offers an insight as to what the government is cooking up (skip cynical typo). I think it’s worth adding however, when asking students what their favourite food is, they almost always respond with pasta or spaghetti.
What I am yet to understand is flour cost increases are met regular tax increases levied upon the millers. I can only surmise as I don’t have an understanding of how things work here. Nor do any Japanese I speak to. In fact there is so little interest in the subject it is little wonder things go awry or politicians get repeatedly caught with their hands in the till. On a more positive note there are plans to increase the self sufficiency rate; with a coffer that no doubt needs to be filled.
This month was greeted with a McPrice Hike. An example given was because of cheese and flour cost increases the ¥100 hamburger will now cost between ¥20 and ¥30 extra depending on the region. The last part made me laugh. Undoubtedly the forbearing Japanese will swallow the latest price rise.
* herein lies a little of the problem
VJ Day
Written by: adekun on 15 August, 2007 10:03 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »
In the morning, there was a short program about some American veterans who served on the USS Drexler, meeting a Japanese pilot trained to carry out kamikaze attacks. It was arranged by the filmmakers of Wings of Defeat. The documentary released in July, aims to dispel the myths that the pilots were all crazy fanatics and show many shared mixed emotions. The release comes a couple of months after the film written by Tokyo’s nationalist governor, depicting the pilots as national heroes.
My wife looked a little shocked watching the footage, so I asked her what she knew of the tactics. Nothing was taught at school; it was only by chance that she had seen an animated depiction some years after leaving. It seems no different now, after a couple of days of the earthquake, there has been no mention of the Kashiwazaki power station. There is however, plenty of coverage outside of Japan.
I haven’t got the power
Written by: adekun on 18 July, 2007 7:02 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »
What has made me angry is that yet again greed has taken precedence over safety. The operator of the damaged plant TEPCO took seven hours to report that water containing radioactive material had leaked into the sea. These figures were undervalued and it is now reported that the levels are 50% higher than first stated. At first there was a denial of any problems.
A transformer, part of the grid connection caught fire. Transformers are cooled by oil which is the likely cause of the fire. It took almost two hours to extinguish, which begs the question were they prepared. Although the units had automatically shutdown, the fuel in the reactor core needs cooling. Had the onsite generation failed, meltdown becomes a credible outcome.
News of a small emission of radioactive cobalt-60 and chromium-51 into the atmosphere, has since been released as well has fifty malfunctions at the plant.
It seems the operator was keen to restart some of units, but as reports mounted the local mayor ordered the plant be closed indefinitely until its safety can be confirmed.
Although built to withstand strong earthquakes, frequently the tremors are beyond these limits. Some are even built on fault lines as maybe the case with Kashiwazaki-Kawara. It all seems a bit slapdash to me but expect there are more pressing concerns.
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