Japanese government to cut mark-up on wheat imports by 45%

TOKYO, Dec. 7 — Japan will slash its current mark-up prices on imported wheat, a move to lower the cost of imported wheat for Japanese millers, informed sources have said. It will help Japanese millers to compete with European-made wheat products such as biscuits, cookies and pastas. The government decided to cut its current 17 yen a kilogram mark-up on imported wheat for biscuits and cookies, by 45 percent. It will also reduce the mark-up for pastas all the way down to 1 or 2 yen per kilogram. The timing of the decision coincides with a trade agreement between Japan and the EU, finalized on Dec. 8. Over a period … Continue reading

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Japan unveils food export strategy to attract foreign interests

TOKYO, Dec. 2 — A government-backed agency that promotes Japanese food exports has identified its first 7 products seen as having great potential to penetrate global markets. The Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO) unveiled on Dec. 1 its first export strategy for 7 agriculture sectors: wagyu beef, rice flour, green tea, sake, wine, craft beer and fishery products. JFOODO now plans to allocate spending on promotion and advertising in different foreign media from February 2018. It will also increase product lines to expand exports. The move coincides with the government setting a target to boost the annual value of Japan’s agricultural exports at 1 trillion yen by 2020. … Continue reading

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Japan, EU conclude trade deal; aiming to take effect early 2019

TOKYO, Dec. 10 — Japan and the EU have finalized a free trade agreement, by separating contentious issues such as foreign investors’ protections and data flows from the deal. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, stressed the strategic importance of the deal in a Dec. 8 joint statement. “Amid widening protectionist movements,” they said, the deal “demonstrates to the world the firm political will of Japan and the EU to keep the flag of free trade waving high and powerfully advance free trade.” They added: “With the finalization of the negotiations, the path is now clear to complete the internal procedures leading to the … Continue reading

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Japan has enough butter for Christmas despite global shortage

TOKYO, Dec. 2 — Baked cakes and other buttery treats are reasonably available for the coming Christmas season in Japan, despite a global butter shortage, industry groups have said. The agriculture ministry held a meeting on Dec. 1 to discuss the supply and demand situation for butter with bakery chains, supermarkets and distributors. “There is no shortage and we have good supply of butter,” said a supermarket operator at the meeting. An official from a bakery chain also said: “We are well prepared as the Christmas holiday season nears.” Japan’s butter production in April-October fell 8.7% to 33,530 metric tons from the same period a year earlier, due to a … Continue reading

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【Research】Sequence of Discourse and Arguments Regarding Fishery Rights

September 10th, 2017 Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd. KAMEOKA Kohei, Researcher On July 20, the Working Group on Fisheries was newly established within Japan’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council. Going forward, the Working Group will discuss how to proceed with the deregulation of the fisheries industry. Here, I will review the development of the discourse on the deregulation of fishery rights (especially specific demarcated fishery rights), which is at the center of the debate on deregulation in the fisheries industry, up to the present. 1.Sequence of discourse on deregulation up to the present The first demand for the deregulation of the fishery rights system was made by theJapan Economic Research Institute, … Continue reading

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