edited title to fit: Rice Futures Halted in Tokyo as Radiation Weighs On First Trades Since ’39

Quote:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-08....
Aug 8, 2011 7:09 PM GMT+1000

Rice futures in Tokyo surged in their first appearance on the bourse since 1939, triggering a suspension of trade, on concern radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant may spread to crops and curb supply.

Trade closed with no deals concluded on the Tokyo Grain Exchange after prices hit 18,500 yen ($238) per 60 kilograms from the opening, compared with the bourse’s reference price of 13,500 yen. The bourse posted today’s settlement at 14,100 yen after the market closed and expanded the daily maximum price limit to 1,000 yen for tomorrow from 600 yen.

The exchange listed rice contracts today for the first time since the start of World War II to boost flagging volumes and profit. The resumption comes as fallout from the Fukushima Dai- Ichi power plant may spread after it was found cattle had been fed cesium-tainted rice straw. Spinach, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tea, milk, plums and fish have been found to be contaminated with cesium and iodine as far as 360 kilometers (224 miles) from the station operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

“People are very concerned that rice supplies may be smaller on fear of radiation contamination,” Nobuyuki Chino, chairman of the exchange’s rice futures trading committee, told reporters in Tokyo. “This was reflected in the prices,” said Chino, who is also president of Tokyo-based grain company Continental Rice Corp.
‘Worsened Image’

Commercial stockpiles of rice, a Japanese staple, may drop to the lowest level in four years in 2012, after the March earthquake and nuclear disaster curbed production, possibly spurring the government to release its reserves, according to the agriculture ministry....

Quote:

($238) per 60 kilograms

What the ****! It's 20 to 40 cents per pound at Costco.

Not for long.

60 kilos == roughly 130 pounds.
thats $1.83 a pound.

Rice is strongly supported by the Government. High subsidies and greater than 700% tariff in the past.