TOKYO, Sept. 24 — The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a governmental export agency, has organized a promotional event for Japanese foods in Sydney, aiming at matchmaking Japanese producers with Australian buyers.
Baked sweet potatoes, various sake and other products of 20 Japanese food companies were showcased for tasting, according to the JETRO, a subsidiary of Japan’s trade ministry.
The event drew about 80 commercial buyers, distributors and restaurants in Australia’s capital.
The objective is to make Japanese food producers and farmers — located mostly in rural areas — have access to marketing and distribution channels of foreign buyers.
But the event caters not just to Japanese producers, but also Australian buyers. It also offered cooking demonstrations that use Japanese agriculture products for western dishes.
“We constantly have to try new menu items to attract customers, and Japan-made foods certainly give such a potential,” said a local restaurant who sampled the cuisines at the event.
A JETRO official points out the Australians are willing to pay more for high quality foods and stresses the importance to take Japanese agriculture products to the next level.
“We need to show how Japanese agriculture products to be cooked for not only traditional Japanese cuisines, the so-called washoku, but also local Australian dishes,” he added.