TOKYO, Feb. 26 ─ Japan’s frozen vegetable imports broke the 1 million ton barrier last year for the first time, driven by rising prices in domestically-produced vegetables. Frozen vegetable import volume rose 7% to 1,009,000 tons in 2017 from a year earlier, with stem vegetables such as broccoli and spinach being the biggest increase, data from the finance ministry showed. The majority of frozen vegetable imports come from China and the U.S. Frozen potato, which account for about 40 percent of total frozen vegetable imports, increased 8% to 378,000 tons due to a poor harvest in the northern island of Hokkaido after heavy rains last year. “Demands from businesses, as … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 24 — Japan will step up efforts in talks with countries to lift import restrictions imposed on Japanese foods, following the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s ruling on the Fukushima-related seafood dispute with South Korea. The WTO backed a Japanese complaint against South Korea’s import bans on seafood as well as additional testing requirements on agricultural foods after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. A WTO dispute panel ruled Seoul’s import bans were justified right after the nuclear meltdown, but continuing them violated the WTO’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. “Japan welcomes the WTO ruling,” said Agriculture Minister Ken Saito at a press conference on Feb. 23. “We will accelerate … Continue reading →