Category Archives: Trade Talks

TOKYO, May 31 — Japan’s exports of rice this year are increasing at a pace of more than 40 percent from a year before, exceeding last year’s strong growth. The rise is driven mainly by shipments to the United States. With prices of U.S.-grown rice rising sharply due to drought, orders for Japanese rice are going up as the weak yen makes the product look reasonably priced. At stores in the U.S., some U.S. rice products ended up being priced higher than Japanese rice. The key to further boost exports is to come up with measures to make Japanese rice take root in the U.S. market. According to the Ministry … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 23 – The construction of beef processing facilities for export is accelerating in Japan to expand already-strong Japanese wagyu beef export. These facilities meet stringent requirements of European countries, the U.S., and new high-potential markets in Islamic countries. While the recovering demand in the restaurant industry elevates wagyu export volume significantly to hit a new record, the increase in certified beef production facilities will likely accelerate the move. The beef exporters must process meat at facilities meeting standards provided by each importing country or region. According to the farm ministry of Japan, the number of certifications given to Japanese wagyu beef exporters by their primary markets, such as … Continue reading →

Hong Kong, Mar. 19 – The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh) has opened a new hub in Hong Kong to produce and sell Japanese chicken egg products. The new factory in the expanding market for Japanese food will produce dashi-maki tamago (rolled omelet made with eggs and dashi broth), hanjuku tamago (half-boiled eggs), and onsen tamago (soft-boiled eggs), for example, for local sushi chains, large-scale supermarkets, and restaurants. By producing and selling products using high-quality eggs and advanced processing technology from Japan, Zen-Noh aims to improve the income of Japanese egg producers. In May 2022, Zen-Noh International Hong Kong Limited and JA Z-Tamago Co., Ltd. established Zen-Noh International … Continue reading →

FUKUSHIMA, March 11 — Exports of agricultural items grown and processed in Fukushima Prefecture have been showing brisk growth, as the prefecture recovers from the 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident. Shipments of alcohol products, mainly Japanese sake, are rising and Fukushima-grown peaches occupy the top share among Japanese peaches sold in Southeast Asian markets. Fukushima also signed a deal with a supermarket in the United States for large-scale shipments of rice. With the trend of the weak yen and more countries and regions relaxing import restrictions on food products from Fukushima imposed after the nuclear disaster, the exports are expected to have grown at a higher pace … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 14 — The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has come up with a new measure to nurture production areas focused on exports. The ministry will provide assistance to prefectures building infrastructure to promote exports, including cultivating demand and coping with regulations in importing countries. The ministry allocated 550 million yen in the fiscal 2022 second extra budget to support around 10 prefectures to develop a model project to produce and sell products overseas in large quantity. Under the Global Farmers / Fishermen / Foresters / Food Manufacturers Project (GFP) on nurturing flagship export-oriented production areas, the ministry will offer up to 50 million yen each in subsidies … Continue reading →