The USDA’s Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Japan has developed the Enjoy Fruits promotional campaign to reverse declining fruit consumption rates in the Asian nation.
A guidebook is central to the campaign, presenting fresh fruit as healthy, tasty and essential to “maintaining beauty”. The guidebook will be distributed to Japanese restaurant operators, fruit importers and produce wholesalers at ATO-organised trade shows, and to consumers through a series of promotional activities.
Japanese consumer spending on fresh fruit in 2012 was the lowest in the past 12 years, despite falling retail prices, according to figures from the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication's Statistics Bureau.
Average household spending fell to ¥31,288 (US$308) in 2012, marking a 7 per cent drop in expenditure from 2011 and a 25 per cent decrease since 2001.
The ATO believes the opportunity to renew interest in the sector is too good to ignore.
“The ageing population of domestic farmers has lead to lower domestic fruit production,” said an ATO GAIN report.
“Japanese farmers tend to produce higher priced fruits, such as peaches, melons and strawberries. The US has an opportunity to better service this market given the price competitiveness and stable supply of American product.
“There is also increasing demand for American-style restaurants and imported food among Japanese consumers, while improving economic conditions are creating new demand.”
