Sunkist Growers is planning to restructure its citrus distribution in Japan, Fruitnet.com understands.
The leading US citrus cooperative has traditionally sold its fruit through 10 import panellists in Japan, but it is now moving to appoint one import partner to handle sales, namely IPM Nishimoto, according to industry sources.
While consumption of imported citrus in Japan has been relatively static or declining in recent years depending on the category, the US remains a dominant supplier. Japan’s orange imports have hovered around 100,000 tonnes in recent years, with the US accounting for around three-quarters of that volume.
Meanwhile, overall lemon imports to Japan have contracted over the past decade, partly due to increased domestic supplies. Volumes stood just above 50,000 tonnes in 2008/09 and 2009/10 (October to September), with the US again accounting for a majority market share (almost 70 per cent).
Although Sunkist’s share of the Japanese lemon import deal is understood to remain relatively strong, it has been losing ground in the overall citrus market there over recent years, particularly the orange sector, according to industry sources.
Fruitnet.com understands that by appointing a single distributor, Sunkist hopes to stabilise and ultimately boost its share of the US citrus market in Japan with a more focused distribution and marketing strategy.
Appointing a sole import partner could also help the marketer to deploy its promotional funds more effectively and better coordinate its sales and promotional activities in Japan.
Sunkist declined to comment on the changes, saying it 'does not discuss its internal business strategies because of their proprietary nature”.
