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Japan launches initiative to boost rice exports to Singapore

A rice export association has launched an initiative to sell more rice to Singapore, taking advantage of the wealthy city-state’s appetite for Japanese cuisine.

The program, titled “This is Japan Quality,” was developed by the Japan Rice and Rice Industry Export Promotion Association in partnership with the agriculture ministry to “expand Japanese culinary culture” by highlighting “the merits of Japanese rice.”

It aims to “ultimately increase the amount of rice and rice products exported globally by first focusing on Singapore,” the association’s chairman, Ryo Kimura, said Monday.

In particular it aims to use Singapore as a “strategic springboard” to spread Japanese culinary culture in Southeast Asia and fuel interest in Japanese rice products.

The agriculture ministry estimates that Japan exported more than 1,200 tons of rice valued at more than ¥370 million to the tiny city-state last year — about 10 times the amount exported to China.

The association has designed a new logo for Japanese rice products and a website with information about Japanese rice. The rice will have QR codes on the packaging that will enable buyers to have easy access to the website.

Akira Karasawa, director general for crop production at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, said at the launch event that the government is trying to promote the export of agriculture and fishery products globally.

Japan’s global export value of rice is small at only ¥1.4 billion last year. The government has set a goal of raising the export value of rice and rice products to ¥60 billion by 2020, Karasawa said.

He added that one of the reasons for launching the initiative in Singapore is due to the nation’s high income level.
Source: Japan Times