Category Archives: Farm Policy

Japan installs vending machine focusing on local fruit produce

TOKYO, April 21 — Japan’s agriculture ministry has installed drink vending machines that sell locally-grown fruit beverage at its headquarters. In Japan, beverages are often in cans in convenience stores, kiosks at trains stations and vending machines. The ministry said the vending machines will offer new product lines each season, such as soy tea and Oita prefecture’s pear juice. It now plans to install such vending machines at train stations as well as airports to promote local fruit produce nationwide.

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Japan installs vending machine focusing on local fruit produce

Japan-US trade talks will not lead to a new FTA: farm minister

TOKYO, April 21 — A recent announcement that Japan and the U.S. are to start talks on trade deals would not lead to “a new free trade agreement (FTA)”, Japanese Agriculture Minister Ken Saito has stressed. “The announcement is neither considered as a new FTA negotiation, nor as preliminary talks to launch a bilateral trade negotiation,” Saito said at an April 20 press conference. His comments came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the U.S. President Donald Trump had announced in Florida after two days of meetings that ended April 18 that they will start talks on “free, fair and reciprocal trade deals.” However, the announcement has left many … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Trade Talks | Comments Off on Japan-US trade talks will not lead to a new FTA: farm minister

What is the best way of selling Japanese produce in China?

TOKYO, April 15 — Online purchase of Japanese food is becoming a preferred channel for Chinese consumers, especially young professionals, a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has found. The Japanese governmental export agency conducted the survey in August 2017 to look for export opportunities of Japanese-grown produce. It questioned 1,224 middle-class Chinese, aged between 20 and 49, who live in six major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and earn more than 5,000 yuan a month. The survey shows that 83 percent of Chinese respondents said they have bought imported food from e-commerce sites. Moreover, the most popular origin of food imports in the e-commerce market … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on What is the best way of selling Japanese produce in China?

Japan, US trade ministers may meet after Diet ends on June 20

TOKYO, April 25 — Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, may hold the first ministerial meeting after the current session in Japan’s parliament, the Diet, ends June 20. “We have indicated to the U.S. that the meeting is likely to take place in late June and after,” Motegi said at an April 24 press conference. His comment came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the U.S. President Donald Trump announced at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s resort club in Florida, that they will start talks on “free, fair and reciprocal trade deals.” They also said that Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will head up … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Trade Talks | Comments Off on Japan, US trade ministers may meet after Diet ends on June 20

Japanese farm goods to be sold at Singapore’s online RedMart

TOKYO, April 15 — Japan’s governmental export agency will set up an online shopping mall at RedMart, Singapore’s e-commerce platform, to help Japanese farmers and food processors to expand their markets. The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) said it’s in talks with RedMart of pulling the plan together, including delivery and transactions. The move is a part of the Japanese government’s strategy to boost agriculture exports to offset an obvious loss in the domestic market. The government has a target to boost the annual value of agricultural exports to 1 trillion yen by 2020. As Singapore is making rapid advances in e-commerce market, two out of three Singaporeans shop online, … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Japanese farm goods to be sold at Singapore’s online RedMart