Hokuren, Hokkaido Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, launched a new business of exporting Hokkaido rice along with mineral water to Singapore. The bottled water is newly developed specially for boosting exports of Hokkaido rice to a tropical country of Singapore, which is named as “Daisetsuzan (literally, great snow mountain) water in Hokkaido.” At a number of supermarkets in Singapore, Hokkaido rice and its water are displayed for sale in the same section with guiding information saying “Enjoy taste of Hokkaido rice cooked with Hokkaido water.” By exporting bottled water with rice packages, Hokuren has raised a filling ratio of the containers for rice shipment, which made it possible to transport … Continue reading →

Hokkaido Prefectural Union of Agricultural Cooperatives made an announcement on July 25 that the Hokkaido agricultural cooperative group (JA group) has started offering its own loyalty program for frequent-shoppers at JA farmer’s markets by using application software (app) designed to run on smartphones. The Hokkaido JA group’s program is to award points to consumers visiting farmer’s markets and other registered places in the prefecture. The consumers will be entitled to participate with their accumulated points in a lottery of gifts such as fresh farm crops and livestock products. The loyalty program is expected to play a role of inviting wide-ranged people to rural areas, which, the JA group hopes, will … Continue reading →