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Rice futures trading suspended after price soars on nuclear fears

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I thought the whole idea of futures trading was that you were to speculate about the future price of a commodity. If you regulate the price, doesn't that negate the whole point of the exercise?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I cannot see how temporarily stopping trade will keep the price down or the rice futures stable. With a reduced / contaminated supply, the price WILL go up. These kinds of measures, if I remember my futures lessons correctly, are to prevent panic and excessive trading in the markets. Usually they are fueled by events which correct themselves, within a short time. This is an ongoing (and worsening) situation.

I look forward to a futures expert or someone "in the space" to comment. :-)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Wrong. The idea is so that you know what you will pay at a time in the future. That way manufacturers can sell a product knowing that you will make a reasonable profit. The purpose is not so that speculators can make huge profits with little effort.

You could buy rice now before the harvest, but this month it will be harvested, so buy a lot.

I suggest people now stock up on imported rice. Go to a Thai shop and buy Thai rice. It will be safer than the Japanese rice. I do not trust Japanese lables, and you do not know where the Japanese rice really comes from.

Recently, bags of soil for growing plants including vegetables have been removed from home centres because some school discovered that they had a radioactive planter. Fukushima soil for growing was being packaged and shipped around the country. I bet the rice will be, too.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I suggest people now stock up on imported rice

But isn't foreign rice mazui? It doesn't suit Japanese tastes, or it spoils easily, etc.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

moomoochoo. Some things should be regulated rather than left to the whim of the markets. Rice is a key staple and excessive prices will severely harm already struggling families.

Japan should apply price limitations to rice as well as start now to import foreign rice supplies to assure continuity of the supply.

We allow far too much of the world to be dictated by markets and traders. It is time we said no to their profit taking and place greater controls over some key products.;

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Pukey2. Why would foreign rice spoil any faster than Japanese rice? Sounds like marketing nonsense. We import and use Thai rise all the time. It is 100% fine. May not fit Japanese taste, but the time for taste flexibility may well be at hand.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

makes me wonder if trading houses are privy to information the rest of us havent heard yet

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Rice may be stored in an airtight container without spoiling for months. I advised my daughter 5 months ago to purchase and store extra supplies as I became worried about radioactive fallout, fortunately that advice was heeded I think the price of Japanese rice for the new harvest will fall but foriegn imports will rise. Supply and demand is what usualy effects prices

1 ( +2 / -1 )

They know something that government has yet to tell everyone... why would the rice be immune to radiation... it is most certainly going to be tainted.

The government is going to have to buy all the rice and burn it as well, the government doesn't have the money to do that, as they'll have to also import rice to cover the gap.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This may explain the line I saw the other day outside the rice shop in my neighborhood. In this heat, even at 10 AM, there were people waiting in line. Thought maybe there was a give-away or something. Guess they were stocking up on the stuff before the prices go up?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japanese rice can be purchased from other countries, <www.alibaba.com> input japanese rice. http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=japanese+rice&Country=&IndexArea=product_en&fsb=y&CatId=1

A lot of the sellers are in Japan but there are some in China, Thailand, etc.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Hope I'm wrong but, in typical "share the pain", "suffer together", or "create a rule to apply to minority rather than majority" style of decision making in Japan. I bet that the gov. will mix rice from contaminated areas with other other regions just because....... (enter your illogical reason here). Similar to what they did with milk and also the beef fiasco. Time to start eating your sushi with Taimai baby!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Price of rice doesn't affect me. I'm glad I've been eating paleo this year and never eat rice or any other grain for that matter.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The above link I posted have some companies in China for instance who has like 10 ton minimum amounts to purchase, I was just thinking that the contaminated rice farms in Japan may not be good for growing rice for like another 50 years or so. Might want to stock up.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

tkoind2, the government already has massive tariffs on rice imports which artificially keeps the price of rice higher than it needs to be (in the name of protecting Japanese farmers).

If one is concerned about struggling families, then IMO one should be in favour of deregulation. It may not be good for the farmers but why should they get a free ride while the rest of the world is struggling. The market can decide the price. If the price goes up - people will produce more rice in response. The futures market is a good idea because it will enable farmers to reduce the risk of fluctuations in price hurting their incomes. The speculators are buying the risk / reward that comes with the price fluctuations of their own volition, more power to them.

Regulators can not ever correctly determine how much rice should be produced - they are not so smart as to know how much rice is in demand and how much people are prepared to pay for it.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

My sympathy to folks there. The price of rice in Japan is already like 7 times the international price due to the tariffs. And now this on top. The ripple effect of Fukushima just keeps spreading.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Our Japanese rice sucks anyway. It is only good for sushi

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan needs to open up and allow more foreign rice imports. Enough is enough. Forcing people in Japan to pay the highest rice prices in the world for their domestically produced rice....rice that is now contaminated with nuclear fallout no less, has got to be a crime.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japan on Monday started a two-year trial for futures trading in rice for the first time in more than seven decades at commodities exchanges in Tokyo and Osaka

the minds who came up with the bright idea of doing this this year, clearly needed to be fired long long about, clearly they lack any grey matter upstairs!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Ah I guess it will be like back in mid 90s when there was a bad harvest & rice sold out & Japan stupidly imported massive amounts from Asia, that subsequently didnt sell(tho I bought lots of yummy long grain stuff!) But the real problem back then wasnt in Japan but in the markets that sold the rice to Japan, prices spiked in SE Asia & many poor had a very rough time, lets hope Japan doesnt do this stupid selfish move again!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

tkoind: Pukey was being sarcastic. Most Japanese I know think Japanese rice is the cat's meow compared to 'foreign' rice -- yet another thing they've been brainwashed into believing despite the fact that polished, white rice cannot be properly metabolized by the human body (brown rice, on the other hand, is okay). In fact, for a proper diet to work, one of the first things you would need to give up besides dairy is white rice, particularly Japanese white rice.

Anyway, I agree with davidatttokyo for a change and think that deregulation is the key. But it will never happen, as Japan will want to protect its farmers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

smithinjapan,

Anyway, I agree with davidatttokyo for a change

Oh no! Arrrgh! Heh.

Well you know, I'm a "freedom" guy. Free markets, free people, protection of people's rights. Regulations where necessary - but to to discriminate for, or against, any particular group. That's my basic philosophy and I apply it consistently even when - shock - whales are concerned.

Japan will want to protect its farmers.

More precisely, some Japanese politicians will want to protect the votes they get from farmers. But this may be changing. See DPJ's ideas on joining the trans-pacific trade talks for example.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Should have been: Regulations where necessary - but NOT to discriminate for, or against, any particular group.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I meet the demand for Japanese rice, Japan my have to import said rice from grown in China. Depending on the number of rice farmland that is contaminated.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Rice tastes the same to me.

The million dollar question that I want answered is:

does it taste better with cesium or not ????

will my brain work better if I get the white rice and cesium ? or non cesium rice ?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A number of years ago here there was a shortage of domestic rice and Japan imported rice from both the US, Thai, and elsewhere. Sure Japanese rice fits to the Japanese palette, Thai rice is different, and so is American rice, BUT they all are edible.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Would like to see more Thai and Taiwan rice imported here. Very tasty. US rice should not even bare the label of rice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"US rice should not even ( bear/carry ) the label of rice"

What makes you say that?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

yubaru,

but dont forget the affect all Japans buying did back mid 90s of Thai rice, the prices spiked in Thailand & elsewhere because of Japan buying so much that it had a severe effect on poorer people through out Asia! And then Japan trashed or made sembei & glue out of most of it, was pretty shamefull what happened back then! And lots got moldy as well!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Our Japanese rice sucks anyway

@legs, LOL, Japanese farmers are not very thrilled to hear this after many days of hard work.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Would like to see more Thai and Taiwan rice imported here. Very tasty. US rice should not even bare the label of rice.

Huh? Thai rice is long grained in comparison to rice here and has a different taste that the average Japanese consumer is unaccustomed to, it doesnt make it any worse nor better, just different.

If you want to knock US rice you are only knocking on koshihikari as well for the most part, because that is what US rice is anyway. So I take it you don't like koshihikari too much either huh?

For the uniformed Thai rice has been imported into Japan for decades, it's used in awamori production in Okinawa.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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