NAGASAKI, May 5 — Shipments of greenhouse-grown biwa loquats are in full swing in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Nagasaki is Japan’s top producing region of greenhouse-grown biwa, holding a 90 percent share.
Some 130 growers cultivate the fruit in the prefecture, according to JA ZEN-NOH Nagasaki, a local branch of the marketing arm of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives group.
They are expected to ship a total of approximately 200 tons this season through late May, mainly to markets in the Kanto and Kansai regions.
Daiki Tomonaga, a 27-year-old biwa grower of Sasebo in the prefecture, cultivates two varieties — Nagasaki Wase and Harutayori — in the two greenhouses.
Because loquats are extremely sensitive and even a small scratch leads to discoloration, he says he touches the fruit “only three times” during the process of harvesting and shipping.
He sometimes harvests as many as 7,000 in a day.
“I was worried because we had a stretch of bad weather in February and March, but the fruit turned out to be of good quality,” Tomonaga said with a smile. “I hope many people will enjoy it.”
Daiki Tomonaga carefully selects and packs biwa loquats in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.