Category Archives: Farm Policy

JA group Hokkaido aims to boost local rice exports to China

TOKYO, Sept. 30 ― Japanese farmers’ group in northern Japan is set to ship locally-grown rice to China in early October, after a rice mill and two fumigation warehouses in Hokkaido received the Chinese government’s approval. Beijing requires that imported rice be milled and fumigated at facilities certified by the Chinese government. Previously, Japan had only one rice mill in Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo, and two fumigation warehouses, approved by China. But it has changed since Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made a visit to Japan in May and agreed to authorize two new mills and five more fumigation warehouses for exports to China, a key step to access more Japanese … Continue reading

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Japan’s beef imports in Jan-Aug rise highest level since 2001

TOKYO, Sept. 28 ― Japan’s beef imports from January to August increased to the highest level since 2001, when beef imports soared after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in a Tokyo suburb. The increase in imports this year came as higher tariffs on U.S. frozen beef imports expired in March and Australian beef tries to gain market share through a free trade agreement with Japan. According to the finance ministry, beef imports in the eight months through August rose 6% to 404,490 metric tons from the same period a year ago. Australian and the U.S. beef account for 90 percent of total imports. Imports … Continue reading

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TPP-11 trade deal likely take effect in earlier Jan 2019: minister

TOKYO, Oct. 20 ― Japan’s Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States, also known as TPP-11, will likely come into force in earlier January 2019. “The TPP-11 should take effect in earlier January next year,” Motegi said at an Oct. 19 press conference, pointing out the TPP-11 legislation passed through the Australian parliament on Oct. 18 and New Zealand’s parliament will soon pass its legislation. “I hope that we could well see other signatories in a position to follow Australia and New Zealand over the coming weeks and months,” he added. The TPP-11 had been signed by Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, … Continue reading

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Japan’s apple growers worry about increasing cheap imports

TOKYO, Sept. 20 ― Aomori is Japan’s top producing region of apples but increasing cheap imports from foreign countries during the summer months worry the region’s growers. In May-August 2017, Japan imported 3,648 metric tons of apples mainly from New Zealand, data from the finance ministry showed. The figure was the highest level since 2000. The import in the same period of 2018 is now expected to exceed the 2017 figure. Apple imports in summer have rapidly increased since 2012 when the bad weather that year led to a decline in production. That makes it more vulnerable to dropping apple prices, local growers point out. “The presence of imports has … Continue reading

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New minister seeks cooperation on farm reform with JA group

TOKYO, Oct. 4 ― Japan’s new agriculture minister, Takamori Yoshikawa, has said that he wants to work the sector’s reform with the country’s largest farmers’ group, or JA group. “The core of the farm reform is to boost farmers’ income and support young people to run farms with a focus on production,” Yoshikawa told the Japanese press in an interview on Oct. 3, one day after he was appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In the latest cabinet reshuffle Abe retained key ministers in their posts, who have been handling thorny trade issues with the United States. Last week, the Japanese prime minister and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to … Continue reading

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