Some Facts About Food In Japan

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AOTS Training (23 - 27 Feb 2009, Yokohama Kenshu Center) Some facts about food in Japan: • Japan self food sufficiency level is only 39%. • In order to secure the import food supply, Japan supports any Japanese company to establish food industry outside Japan for making mutual relationship. 80 • Food self sufficiency in Japan is decreasing every year. 60 • 1960 : 79% 40 • 1970 : 60% Food Self Sufficiency 20 • 1980 : 53% 1960 1970 1980 1990 0 • 1990 : 48% 2000 2006 • 2000 : 40% • 2006 : 39% % Self suffiency • Japan food export in year 2006 : JPY328.6 billion (6% from total export/import) Export Import • Japan food import in year 2006 : JPY 4903.8 billion (94% from total export/import calorie value) • Japan government maintains to keep the price of rice 6% at high level by prohibiting the farmers to plant more rice. If lots of farmers starting to plant more rice, then the price will go down and it will make no local farmers Food Export / Import will be interested to plant rice anymore. • Animal meat consumption is prohibited in Japan from 94% 7th - late 19th century, except for bird, chicken and wild-pig. • Reason: the other 4-legs stocks (farm animal) are related with war device, e.g. horses. If common people domesticate these 4 leg animals, they may have chance to establish rebellion power. • Since 1960, Japan already lost about 1.5 million Ha of plantation land due to economic development (including 330,000 Ha of non-utilized plantation land, about 1.8 times of Tokyo area). Actually Japan still has capacity to increase the rice production up to 50% by utilizing the non-utilized farming land). • Farming land in Japan is 4.5 million Ha • Farming land outside Japan for Japan market is 12 25% million Ha (2.5 times of farming land in Japan) Farming Land Area • Total food import amount to Japan in year 2006 : JPY 4.9 trillion 75% • Total processed food import to Japan in year 2006: JPY 2.4 trillion • From North America : 24% • From China : 18% In Japan Out Japan • From Europe : 15% • From ASEAN : 13%

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Market size of the food industry in Japan • Year 2002 : JPY 80 trillion • Year 1985 : JPY 60 trillion Actually since 1985-2000, Japan population does not change much, but there is changes tendency of preparing the food from raw material to buy the processed food. Japanese food popularity is becoming more and more in the world. • Reason: Japanese economic development, overseas Japanese residents, image of healthy Japanese food Japan has an effort to achieve 50% food self sufficiency rate based on food calorie (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). Future import of processed food import to Japan may decline due following issues: • Japan population is declining • Total demand of food will decrease • Recent safety incident of import processed food in Japan. Japan family will have more tendency to cook at home • However, increasing of the un-married, late-married people and working woman will increase the processed food demand. Violation rate of the food safety in Japan market (inspection in Tokyo): Product

Rejection rate of DOMESTIC products

Rejection rate of import products

Fishery Product

0.25%

0.14%

Meat, eggs, processed food

0.12%

0.00%

Agricultural

0.21%

0.30%

Itʼs not always that Japanʼs own food product is safer from the import food products.

Safety Foods - Laws and Regulations All relevant laws and regulations can be accessed on the following Japan website: www.maff.go.jp - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery www.mhlw.go.jp - Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare or in other related website: www.jetro.go.jp - Japan External Trade Organization Food import to Japan Any type of food can be imported to Japan as long as it is safety-guaranteed for human health. Prohibited foods for import to Japan: • Foods containing toxic or harmful substances

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• Rotten and spoiled foods • Foods not complying with spec and standard of manufacturing method and material • Foods with impermissible food additives • Foods not accompanied with required documentations In Japan, it is very common to ask a forwarder service to fill-in all the import notification-form by providing all necessary information and submit all required documentations. Related laws and regulations for import of foods and agricultural products: Food Sanitation Law • Plant Protection Law • Domestic Animal Infectious Disease Control Law • Washington Convention • Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law • Quarantine Law • Staple Foods Law • Liquor Tax Law • Pharmaceutical Affairs Law • The Law Concerning Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural • and Forestry Products (Law for JAS = Japan Agriculture Standard) Poisonous and Deleterious Substance Control Law • Food Safety Basic Law • Laws and regulations on foods safety and sanitation:

Plant Protection Law

Quarantine Law

Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law

Domestic Animal Infection Disease control Law

Food Sanitation Law Food Safety Basic Law

JAS Law

HACCP

Organic Products

Label Indication

GMO Products

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Safety Guaranteed Foods - Organic Foods Recently there is a tendency to consume foods considered as more safety such as organic foods: Japanese consumers acceptance of price increase for safety-guaranteed food like organic foods: Price Criteria

Acceptance population

More than 50% price increase

2.00%

30 - 50% price increase

17.40%

10 - 20% price increase

68.50%

Same price as conventional foods

10.70%

Based on above facts, there are some food manufactures which do their production which comply with safer products, e.g.: Non-additive cooking • Careful selection of material • Quality assurance number • Those manufactures also gather information and publish in detail on their website about their product guarantee. Each consumers can check all detail such as material source, test result on agricultural chemical residues etc. from the website (by PC or mobile phone): For example, we can check Ishii Food Corporation products in following website: http://www.ishiifood.co.jp - from internet PC http://ishiifood.com/ - from mobile phone internet To accomodate this detail, manufactures need special traceability systems which consist of more data, e.g. 2D data code (Barcode 2D).

2D Data Code 2D Data Code keeps more data compared to the common barcode. It has data capacity equivalent to approx. 2,000 characters.

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WORLD Food Supply and Demand 2007/2008 Fiscal Year Grain

Quantity (million ton)

Corn

791.0

Wheat

682.9

Rice

439.1

Soybean

233.2

Others

494.5

TOTAL

2640.7

Corn Soybean

Wheat Others

19% 30%

9% 17%

26%

Production and Export Corn Unit: million ton Country

Productivity

Export

USA

307.40

44.50

China

165.50

0.50

European Union - 27

61.20

Brazil

51.50

Mexico

25.00

0.00

Argentina

16.50

9.50

Former Soviet Union -12

3.80

South Africa

2.50

Others

164.00

7.10

TOTAL

791.00

76.90

Productivity

Export

European Union - 27

150.50

19.00

Former Soviet Union - 12

114.70

29.60

China

113.00

Wheat Unit: million ton Country

Rice

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Country

Productivity

Export

India

78.40

USA

68.30

27.20

Canada

28.60

19.00

Australia

13.00

Argentina

4.30

Others

129.30

11.70

TOTAL

682.90

123.90

Productivity

Export

China

130.20

1.00

India

96.40

4.10

Indonesia

35.80

Bangladesh

28.80

Vietnam

24.40

4.80

Thailand

19.30

10.00

Rice Unit: million ton Country

USA

3.50

Pakistan

3.00

Others

96.70

4.00

TOTAL

431.10

30.40

Productivity

Export

USA

80.50

29.90

Brazil

59.00

25.30

Argentina

49.50

14.40

China

16.80

0.50

Soybean Unit: million ton Country

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Country

Productivity

Export

Others

27.40

37.10

TOTAL

233.20

77.20

Quantity

Remark

Japan grain imports Unit: million ton Grain Corn

16.50

21% - No. 1 in the world Mainly for animal feed

Soybean

4.00

5% - No. 3 in the world China no. 1 - 47%

Wheat

5.60

4.5% - No. 4 in the world

Top 10 World Population (2007): 1. China - 1.33 billion people - 20% 2. India - 1.17 billion people - 18% 3. USA - 310 million 4. Indonesia - 230 million 5. Brazil 6. Pakistan 7. Bangladesh 8. Russia 9. Nigeria 10. Japan Population Increase

Developing Nations

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Farmland and Yield

Planted area Yield Population Grain harvest acreage per capita

1961 - 1963 average

2002-2004 average

650 million Ha

670 million Ha

1.4 ton / Ha

3.2 ton / Ha

3.1 billion people (1962)

6.3 billion people (2003)

20.8a / person (1962)

10.7a / person (2003)

Summary of the world food supply and demand: 1. Asian nations are turning out to be importers 2. Future trend and movement of Asian regions where the population and economy have been increasingly growing will largely affect and control the global food demand and supply 3. Alternative energy capable of replacing fuel-oil is anticipated 4. Realization of both economic development and environmental protection including CO2 emission reduction 5. Development of Japanese food self-sufficiency rate continues stable at a lower level 6. Paying attention to Free Trade Agreement and enterprises joining the agricultural market segment

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