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Japan's farm ministry sets up new bureau to expand food exports

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This isn't about food exports, it's about cultural exports and promotion of Japan. The bureau is there for, "brand appeal".

I'm fairly certain this bureau is set up solely to promote Japan by shoehorning wagyu into a TPP agreement. Effectively forcing it's consumption overseas.

Japan is desperate to be seen on the world stage. Forcing exports of ludicrously overpriced luxury good like wagyu fits the bill perfectly.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The huge costs of producing food in Japan is not going to make any of those efforts easy, maybe trying to put out products as some kind of rare, luxurious varieties that rich people would pay extra to get, but I don't see how this could become a realistic solution of the problem.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

On the one hand it makes almost zero sense for Japan, where the cost of agricultural production are extremely high compared to other countries, to be investing in something like this.

On the other hand, the government is beholden to both rural interests that obviously stand to benefit from this and also to a bureaucracy whose answer to everything is to create a new bureau or agency because that is the policy solution that ensures a reliable source of jobs to give their colleagues. So it makes perfect sense from that perspecitve, despite being sheer lunacy from any other.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This isn't about food exports, it's about cultural exports and promotion of Japan. The bureau is there for, "brand appeal".

After all where else can you buy fresh whale or dolphin meat ? Just saying ........................

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Processed agri-food products like sauces and beverages are also in high demand and the export market has plenty of room for growth.

Yeah, but the problem for Japan is that these are things which are likely to be replicable at lower cost in other countries. Japan might lead in some high-end categories now, but is caught in a trap - it it succeeds in a given product area it will just spur makers in those countries to copy, and when they do they'll be able to do so at much lower costs.

The only competitive advantage Japan has really is in its reputation, which is worth something but probably not enough for it to overcome its other disadvantages (at least not enough for its products to escape being high priced niches).

You can see this effect in Europe - France has one of the top reputations in the world as a wine making country, but basically the same product can be made in Spain for much cheaper. Consumers like French wine, but buy way more Spanish wine because it costs less.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Will this bureau promote Fukushima products?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Exports of Japanese agricultural products have been growing significantly in recent years, more than doubling in the past 10 years with plenty of room for growth. Exports of Amaou strawberries are lifting off like a rocket and are in high demand across Asia. Other agriculture products that are in high demand are Japanese apples, wasabi, and of course green tea. Besides beef, products like eggs from Japan are popular in some Asian cities with even less food security like Hong Kong.

There is a new state-of-the-art flour mill in Hakata which was constructed specifically to mill different blends of wheat and export large quantities of specialized flours like okonomiyaki flour, low alpha-amylase pan bread flour etc.

Processed agri-food products like sauces and beverages are also in high demand and the export market has plenty of room for growth.

Okay down-voters, let me have it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@rainyday

I agree. Japanese mayonnaise and brewed soy sauce that takes a couple of years are capturing markets where people are willing to pay for quality.

People pay more for "organic" food thinking it is more sustainable when in reality "organic" food is less sustainable than conventional agriculture.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Buy local, wherever you are!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This sounds like a scheme to sell off foods from the Fukushima area that the Japanese don't want to buy, even at discounted prices.

I prefer buying food from fukushima given the rigorous testing and quality check the food from fukushima goes through, not to mention that they taste incredible.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan's farm ministry on Thursday launched a new bureau to boost exports of agricultural products to make up for a shrinking domestic market as the country's population declines.

Shrinking domestic market is nothing but some flimsy excuse. The prices are so high

most people cannot afford.

It will just be a waste of tax payers money.

They will spend 1000 to sell 500 and the narrative will be that sales

increased when it was a massive loss.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Whatever Japan exports, please no Fukushima(and its surrounding prefectures) food, please.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Buy local, wherever you are!

You may wish to re-think that. In much of North America if you are eating a fresh salad in the winter and early spring those greens in all likelihood came from the Imperial Valley of California or farming regions nearby in Arizona and Mexico. Their desert climates allow three to four crops of greens and other vegetables per year. If one restricted themselves to what could be grown in the climate of Georgia, Connecticut or anywhere in Canada there would be no fresh salads, strawberries or dozens of other good tasting and good for you foods to eat. Buying only locally produced foods in much of the US would mean no rice, citrus or avocados. In the US rice is only grown in three states, Louisiana, Texas and California, the latter of which makes maybe the nicest tasting rice in the world. Why shouldn't California sell its rice abroad? It commands a premium price over Thai, Indian or Vietnamese rice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A lot of the stuff produced is so expensive I avoid them and buy imported stuff instead - nuts, celery, mangos, cherries, oats, etc - so the Japanese products are hardly going to be cheap abroad. They might be able to sell it to Kim Jong Un.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This sounds like a scheme to sell off foods from the Fukushima area that the Japanese don't want to buy, even at discounted prices.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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