Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) plans to revise its wheat import program this October by adapting so-called SBS or a Simultaneous Buy and Sell System to 200 thousand tons of wheat to be imported within a maximum current access of 5.74 tons in a year. Under the new SBS system, Japanese flour millers will be able to import any types of wheat from trading firms in exporting countries through their direct contracts. Wheat has been imported under the state trading system in principle. The Japanese government purchases major five types of wheat including Australian standard white under the current access commitment, and sells them to domestic flour … Continue reading →

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on May 25 that an import quota for skimmed milk powder has been expanded to 34 thousand tons in fiscal 2017, which is 2.6 times larger than the initial plan. Import of the skimmed milk powder under the current access commitment was fixed at 13 thousand tons for the fiscal year 2017 by MAFF last January, which is now added with 21 thousand tons. Its annual import in fiscal 2017 will be the third largest in past 29 years since 1989 when the Japanese “Heisei” era started. Officials of MAFF’s division of milk and dairy products explained the background of an … Continue reading →

The Japanese government approved an Annual Report on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in Japan for the fiscal year 2016 or “White Paper on Agriculture” at its cabinet meeting held on May 23. According to the White Paper, the total number of commercial farm households declined to 1.33 million in 2015, showing a 32-percent reduction in the past ten years. The Agricultural White Paper has expressed concern that the base of agricultural production has been continuously undermined, emphasizing necessities of reducing prices of farm inputs as well as accelerating structural reforms in processing and distribution industries. The Paper also touches upon future challenges to be addressed by the Japanese agriculture … Continue reading →

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) jointly notified prefectural governments on May 17 to persuade agricultural high schools to provide students with education on “Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).” MAFF and MEXT point out in the notification that GAP will be useful for the students to enhance their qualities and abilities necessary for growing themselves up to human resources who have both production skills and a sense of business management. The notification also suggests that students should be provided not only with lessons on GAP, but also with opportunities to practice the GAP at school farms. All the … Continue reading →