A Nikkei report claiming that “2025-harvest rice stocks have piled up, and wholesale prices have fallen to half of last autumn’s level” became a hot topic on 5ch. In the thread, users vented resentment at the rice wholesalers who made a killing during last year’s price spike, and pointed out that demand which shifted to noodles and bread won’t easily come back. At the same time, some worried that if prices fall too far, farmers will simply give up growing rice altogether.
Nikkei (Nikkei Digital Edition)
@nikkei
Rice price slide shows no sign of stopping, now half of last autumn’s level — 2025-harvest stockpiles pile up
Source: nikkei.com / Original article here
The Reiwa-era Money Short (a Big Short-style bet)
This is basically Michael Burry going all-in shorting the market
This is basically Michael Burry going all-in shorting the market
You're the ones who threw supply and demand out of balance in the first place — who are you to complain?
It gave people the option of "guess I'll just eat noodles if there's no rice"
Prices haven't dropped at my local supermarket
Though it is about ¥1,000 cheaper than at the peak
Though it is about ¥1,000 cheaper than at the peak
It's because of the price manipulation that people turned away from rice, and now there's a glut
They should've sold it off sooner — now they're saying the exact same thing scalpers say
Even at half price, that's still half of a price they jacked up themselves
Demand's already dried up, so it's going to be hell from here on
Though they brought it on themselves
Though they brought it on themselves
Can't even cut their losses properly, yet they had the nerve to play at price manipulation
Weren't you lot the ones who started this money game in the first place?
"Let them eat cake" (the famous Marie Antoinette line)
If there's no rice, something else will do — it's that simple
If there's no rice, something else will do — it's that simple
Guess we can call this a win for us?
Last year's prices were just too high — it went from 2.5-3x normal down to only about 50% above normal, that's all this is
Sell it at a loss then
Pay back what you raked in last year
Pay back what you raked in last year
This is on the people who used the bad harvest as an excuse to jack up prices in the first place
If they hadn't gotten so greedy and had capped it around 30% higher, none of this would've happened
If they hadn't gotten so greedy and had capped it around 30% higher, none of this would've happened
Wonder why the 2025 harvest is sitting in surplus~
It was supposed to be in short supply, so why is there all this inventory?
¥3,000 for 5kg is supposedly the break-even line
If it gets too cheap and farmers quit growing rice, consumers lose out in the long run too
If it gets too cheap and farmers quit growing rice, consumers lose out in the long run too
>>53
The going rate for 5kg is already down to the low ¥2,000s
Blended rice (mixed with cheaper imported or older stock) goes for ¥1,700
The going rate for 5kg is already down to the low ¥2,000s
Blended rice (mixed with cheaper imported or older stock) goes for ¥1,700
They completely misjudged what a fair market price even was
Why did they ever think that high price was reasonable?
Why did they ever think that high price was reasonable?
>>61
"It's the staple food lol It's the soul of the Japanese people lol It's expensive but you've gotta buy it anyway lol, my fellow citizens lol"
That was basically their whole simple-minded scheme
"It's the staple food lol It's the soul of the Japanese people lol It's expensive but you've gotta buy it anyway lol, my fellow citizens lol"
That was basically their whole simple-minded scheme
They jumped at short-term profit and jacked prices up to insane levels, and now rice is about to lose its spot as the stable staple food to noodles and bread — talk about karma
Even with that agriculture-lobby farm minister frantically buying back the reserve stockpile to try to keep the price hike going, there's nothing they can do about this now
Even with that agriculture-lobby farm minister frantically buying back the reserve stockpile to try to keep the price hike going, there's nothing they can do about this now
Koizumi's 400,000 tons of reserve rice (released under then-Agriculture Minister Koizumi) was the last thing they needed
Brutal that the milling plants got overwhelmed and shipments got delayed
Brutal that the milling plants got overwhelmed and shipments got delayed
>>70
That's basically what finished it off
Funny how it's Suzuki (the current agriculture minister) who ends up stabilizing things at a low price
That's basically what finished it off
Funny how it's Suzuki (the current agriculture minister) who ends up stabilizing things at a low price
People genuinely started eating other stuff, and winning that back is going to be tough
They've got no choice but to make it dirt cheap and get people thinking "rice really is good value" again
They've got no choice but to make it dirt cheap and get people thinking "rice really is good value" again
>>73
Other foods keep shrinking in portion size (shrinkflation), so with prices dropping this much, rice actually looks like good value now
Other foods keep shrinking in portion size (shrinkflation), so with prices dropping this much, rice actually looks like good value now
>>79
Looking at it again, the cost-effectiveness of putting rice on the table is honestly terrible
It only works because it's cheap — if it's expensive, the public's answer is simply not to eat it
Looking at it again, the cost-effectiveness of putting rice on the table is honestly terrible
It only works because it's cheap — if it's expensive, the public's answer is simply not to eat it
>>79
Right now rice is literally the only thing that's gotten cheaper
Chicken, meat, and eggs have all gone up
Right now rice is literally the only thing that's gotten cheaper
Chicken, meat, and eggs have all gone up
Peaked out last October and it's been sliding ever since
This is straight-up The Big Short
This is straight-up The Big Short
Last year everyone kept going on about a rice shortage, and now they're sitting on a surplus of the 2025 harvest? What are they even talking about?
>>94
There hasn't actually been a real rice shortage since 2000 in the first place
There hasn't actually been a real rice shortage since 2000 in the first place
>>94
The 2025 harvest doesn't actually come in until fall 2025, you know
The 2025 harvest doesn't actually come in until fall 2025, you know
There were even rice shops that closed down claiming they had no rice left
>>109
If you mean that shop that got covered in the news
https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/seminar/19/00030/102300712/
They closed in March 2025 and reopened in October, so that doesn't contradict the current rice glut at all
If you mean that shop that got covered in the news
https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/seminar/19/00030/102300712/
They closed in March 2025 and reopened in October, so that doesn't contradict the current rice glut at all
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Rice Wholesalers Furious: “Nothing Left But to Sell at a Loss” — Prices Head to Half of Last Year’s.”
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