TOKYO, Jan. 16 — Carcasses of Noto beef cattle, a wagyu beef brand from Ishikawa
A restaurant in Tokyo’s Taito Ward offers dishes supporting Noto beef producers.
Prefecture, were auctioned on Jan. 15 at the Tokyo central meat wholesale market for the first time after a New Year’s Day earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula.
Sales were brisk, with one bullock carcass sold at a record high price for the day, as many buyers said they want to somehow support cattle producers by purchasing their products.
There are also moves by restaurants and retailers to organize sales campaigns to help the producers.
A total of 12 carcasses from Noto Ranch & Co. and a Noto beef cattle fattening farm of JA Zennoh Ishikawa, an agricultural cooperative, were put on auction on the day.
While there were concerns whether they could ship the carcasses as roads were cut off in some areas, they managed to deliver them to the market, although it took them 1.5 times longer than usual.
Many buyers, including those from faraway places, came to participate in the auction to back up the producers.
One of the carcasses was sold at 3,532 yen per kilogram excluding tax, a record high price of the day for a bullock carcass.
Ohyama, a meat wholesaler in Tokyo’s Taito Ward that purchased two carcasses, offers Noto beef dishes at its restaurants to support producers.
“I believe it will still take a long time to restore (the region),” said Ohyama’s president. “We hope to continue supporting them.”