Food crisis looms for Japan as prices rise

By Julian Ryall, in Tokyo

Last Updated: 1:04AM BST 02/05/2008

Japan is facing its first food shortages in almost 40 years, with supermarkets close to running short of stocks.

n the last month, the price of milk, soy sauce, bread, noodles, pasta and cooking oil have all risen as makers are forced to pass on rising costs.

Butter has already begun to disappear from supermarket shelves as surging global grain prices make it impossible for Japan's dairy farmers to increase milk production. Retailers warn that other goods could follow soon.

With the global food crisis beginning to bite in one of the world's most powerful economies, more than 80 per cent of Japanese said that increasing prices were having an impact on their household spending. Many shoppers said they were switching to cheaper brands or buying in greater bulk.

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This is of particular note:

A major concern for Japan's government is that its farmers can produce only about 40 per cent of the food consumed each year by its 128 million inhabitants. This is the lowest proportion for any industrialised nation and also adds to transport costs, which have become a larger burden than elsewhere.