Japanese Butter Shortage

[kiyuga]

Apparently, Japan is in need of dairy products. In 2006, there was an over-production of milk, so the government killed a majority of the countries cattle. Now the Japanese are depending on inports to get their dairy. Are butter and milk products at outrageous prices or is this just a rumor?

[BakaCrisis]

The government is plotting to make us fear everything is going out of wack... seriously, like last week I saw on the news that "Eating alot of fish is good for you" well now they are saying "If you eat too much fush, there may be a health concer" and i was like... wtf

[MMM]

Originally Posted by kiyuga

Apparently, Japan is in need of dairy products. In 2006, there was an over-production of milk, so the government killed a majority of the countries cattle. Now the Japanese are depending on inports to get their dairy. Are butter and milk products at outrageous prices or is this just a rumor?

Dairy cows are only good for dairy for a few years, then they become beef cows. With the fears of imported beef I could understand this...sort of...but since dairy isn't as much of a staple as it is in the US, I'd like to hear more details about this "butter shortage".

[kiyuga]

Well....Japan is getting their butter from France. The price has skyrocketed (from approx. $5/250g to aprrox. $20/200g) and stores will only sell a certain amount of dairy to each customer....

[MMM]

Originally Posted by kiyuga

Well....Japan is getting their butter from France. The price has skyrocketed (from approx. $5/250g to aprrox. $20/200g) and stores will only sell a certain amount of dairy to each customer....

This article explains what is going on.

Butter spread thin in Japan - Los Angeles Times

[Nyororin]

This is old news now.
The Japanese government directed dairy producers to redirect a percentage of the milk that was being used to produce cheese to producing butter.

For a month or so, yes, butter was outrageous (700 yen for a pack). Now it`s no longer so, and back to around 300 yen a pack with no visible shortages in the stores.

The prices have gone up enough to be painful for mass purchasers (bread producers, etc) but it`s no longer hitting the average consumer.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

This is old news now.
The Japanese government directed dairy producers to redirect a percentage of the milk that was being used to produce cheese to producing butter.

For a month or so, yes, butter was outrageous (700 yen for a pack). Now it`s no longer so, and back to around 300 yen a pack with no visible shortages in the stores.

The prices have gone up enough to be painful for mass purchasers (bread producers, etc) but it`s no longer hitting the average consumer.

Thank you for calming the masses Nyororin.

No offense to the OP, but there are so many "POST1: questionable problem...POST2: Yeah Japanese do this..." which leads to a lot of misinformation. Japan gets all its butter from France???

[Nyororin]

I just went to the store and took a look at prices.

Butter 200g - salted; 348yen
Butter 200g - unsalted; 398yen
Milk, 1 liter, 3.6% - 188yen to 298yen (varies by brand)
Milk, 1 liter, 4.4% - 228yen to 368yen (varies by brand)
Skim milk, 1 liter - 98yen to 158yen (also varies by brand)

The highest I ever saw it was 788yen for 200g when it was really in short supply.

Cheese appears to have gone up between 30 and 50 yen a pack though. The little 100yen cheese packs my son loves have gone from 98 to 118.... *sigh*

[Sangetsu]

There are still shortages in Tokyo. Last week my gf was baking a cake and couldn't find any butter at her local grocery stores. I live in the countryside, but even so, I found only one package of butter left at my local grocery store.

As of yesterday evening there was still no butter to be found at any of the Shinkawa Tokyo Lawson stores.

[blimp]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I just went to the store and took a look at prices.

Butter 200g - salted; 348yen
Butter 200g - unsalted; 398yen
Milk, 1 liter, 3.6% - 188yen to 298yen (varies by brand)
Milk, 1 liter, 4.4% - 228yen to 368yen (varies by brand)
Skim milk, 1 liter - 98yen to 158yen (also varies by brand)

The highest I ever saw it was 788yen for 200g when it was really in short supply.

Cheese appears to have gone up between 30 and 50 yen a pack though. The little 100yen cheese packs my son loves have gone from 98 to 118.... *sigh*

mate, where do u buy butter? here it is around 200 yen for 450g.
then again, u'r making me ery uncertain....i need to check.