the price of rice

A photo of a rice for sale at a market in the Philippines:

Price = 20 Philippine pesos per kilogram =
USD$0.39 / AUD$0.51*

A photo of rice for sale at a supermarket in Japan:

Price = 1380 yen for 1.4 kg = ¥986 per kilogram =
USD$8.50 / AUD$11.10.*

*Based on today's exchange rates


Pictured Japanese rice = 21.7 X price of pictured Philippine rice.

Even assuming that the pictured Japanese rice is a premium grade/variety and the Philippine rice is low grade, that’s quite a difference. And Philippine rice is around double the price of rice in other Asian developing countries.

I SHOULD thoroughly research why there’s such a big difference. Instead, I’ll offer sketchy details that are already in my head and, as such, need to be taken with a liberal sprinkling of sodium chloride.

Japanese production is more expensive (cost of fertilizer, pesticides, labour, transport etc). Though this is offset a little by higher yields (average yield in Japan from 2003-2005 was 6.27 tons per hectare; in the Philippines it was 3.49 tons per hectare).

The Japanese market is heavily protected. There are big trade restrictions and tariffs on imported rice that keep rice prices high overall. (Tariffs increase the price of imported rice several-fold by the time it reaches the shops.)

SW is keepin’ it EDUMACATIONAL. Yeah.