Category Archives: Cooperatives

Satoshi Furusawa, a 58-year-old farmer who grows rice on some 30 hectares of paddies in Chikusei, Ibraki Prefecture, says he is increasingly concerned that under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, domestically-grown rice will be forced out from the market for restaurants and ready-made foods. In the area where JA Kitatsukuba, a farm co-op in Chikusei, serves, rice farmers have recently been expanding sales channels to food service companies. As for table rice they harvested in 2015, 70 percent of the total annual yield of some 17,800 tons are sold to such companies. Their major brand Koshihikari is known for good taste, and it is popular among restaurants and convenience stores … Continue reading →

Hiroko Obara Domestic mikan (Japanese tangerine) farmers are totally shocked at the announcement by the government to abolish tariffs on oranges and orange juice in line with the broad agreement reached under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The news came as a complete surprise, as no reports had been made on the TPP negotiations over farm products other than five key sensitive items. Although domestic growers have been trying hard to produce high-quality products to cope with market liberalization, they say it will become difficult to compete with imported fruits just by differences in quality. The town of Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, is a major mikan growing region with numerous orchards … Continue reading →