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 Hong Kong Food Limited. In February 2023, it began testing its facilities. Zen-Noh Group is in charge of the whole processes from collecting and exporting eggs from Japan to producing and selling egg products in Hong Kong.
Japanese chicken eggs receive high marks for fine quality and high-level safety and hygienic management. However, when it comes to exporting egg products from Japan, keeping their taste and quality has been one of the challenges. By producing them locally, Zen-Noh can capture the demand of restaurants and food business operators in Hong Kong who want to offer more excellent Japanese food.
The new factory has automatic egg breakers, beaters, heaters, shellers, omelet cookers, and slicers. It makes sliced rolled omelets for sushi and half-boiled ramen eggs. It has already signed sales contracts with major sushi chains and will start commercial production in April this year at the earliest.
Japan is facing a severe shortage of egg supply due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian bird flu and soaring feed prices. So, “ensuring stable delivery in Japan is the most important issue today,” Zen-Noh said. On top of this, however, it wants to help increase the revenue of egg producers through the overseas expansion, said an official from Zen-Noh’s export division.