New hope for Fukushima food produce?

March 15, 2017

Signs of hope for Fukushima food producers shut out of overseas markets

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/15/national/signs-hope-fukushima-food-producers-shut-overseas-markets/#.WMrROGdFeos

JIJI

Import bans on Japan’s fishery and agricultural products are still in place for some countries six years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. New markets in Southeast Asia, however, are giving some producers signs of hope, according to industry sources.

Safety concerns over Japanese products remain especially strong in China and other neighboring economies, putting domestic fish and agricultural exporters in a bind.

Miyagi Prefecture, the largest producer of sea squirts before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, used to ship about 70 percent of its haul to South Korea.

In 2013, South Korea halted fish imports from eight prefectures in Japan, including Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima. As a result, Miyagi was forced to dispose of close to 7,600 tons of unsold sea squirts from its farms last year.

“We were asked to cut prices based on the idea that sea squirts can’t be sold elsewhere,” said Masao Atsumi, 39, who farms sea squirts in Samenoura Bay in Miyagi’s Ishinomaki city.

While seeking to find new revenue sources, such as sea cucumber fishing, Atsumi said, “We are looking forward to the lifting of the South Korean import ban.”

After the disaster, 54 countries and regions imposed restrictions on imports of Japanese agricultural and fishery products, according to Japan’s fisheries ministry.

That number has fallen to 33 countries and regions, of which many have eased regulations and allowed some products that bear certificates of origin.

Last year, the European Union, known for strict food safety standards, decided to loosen its regulations on food imports from Japan.

Still China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, South Korea, Singapore and Russia have kept their markets closed to certain farm and fisheries products from specific regions, continuing bans partly to avoid criticism for taking a weak stance against the country, sources familiar with the situation said.

The announcement by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s government that it was considering lifting the import ban from four prefectures last November spurred intense opposition from the Kuomintang Party, which had previously been in favor of the ban’s removal when the party was in power.

“Japanese food products have become a political issue,” a person familiar with Japan-Taiwan relations said.

Heightened awareness of food safety has also been a factor.

In China, the memory of infant deaths caused by tainted baby formula in 2008 lingers on, while a larger and wealthier middle class have continued to demand improved food safety and product quality.

Although food produced domestically has passed the Japanese government’s safety standards, “worries about radioactive substances remains strong,” a person familiar with Japan-China relations said.

Taiwan was rocked by a scandal in 2014 where substandard cooking oil distributed to many restaurants was discovered to have been recycled from waste oil.

Southeast Asian countries have emerged as attractive markets for Japanese products owing to fewer political hurdles.

Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori visited Thailand in May last year as part of a campaign to promote peaches grown in his prefecture, home to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

By working with logistics companies and retailers in the two countries, the prefecture succeeded in lowering local retail prices for Fukushima peaches to 400 baht (¥1,300) for two peaches, down from 1,200 baht. This was accomplished by changing the method of shipping from air to sea, using cutting-edge freezer container technology.

“Although only wealthy customers used to buy Fukushima peaches, demand for the fruit as a gift has increased,” said an official of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.’s Isetan department store in Bangkok.

Peach exports from Fukushima to Thailand totaled 20 tons in 2016, up about 15 times on the previous year and exceeding 9.9 tons exported just before the disaster to China, which had been the largest importer.

With shipments of Fukushima peaches expanding to Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, officials in the prefecture hope they are finding a way out of the disaster-caused doldrums.