Japan’s Organic Production Standards Could Be Boon to U.S.
Published: Wednesday, December 01, 1999
If the proposed standards are approved, effective April 2000 all foods marketed as organic in Japan must adhere to them and be certified by a third party.
“Given the fact Japan’s warm, wet climate makes it difficult to raise many foods without the use of chemicals, traders expect that [the] organic standards, once implemented, may reduce domestic organic food production,” the report suggests. That, coupled with growing consumer demand for certified organics in Japan, could give organic imports a substantial boost.
Japan’s organic foods market is expected to grow about 15% in 1999 to almost $3 billion, according to a study by Sogo Market Research. Imports of organics are still comparatively small, valued at $90 million in 1998, or less than 4% of total sales.
Currently, most organic foods in Japan are provided by small-scale farms. However, shipments from small farms are expected to decline in the near term, the report says. Large-scale producer cooperatives and agricultural corporations will account for most organic food production in Japan by early in the next century, the report predicts.
Generally, Japan’s proposed standards mirror those currently being considered in the U.S. They call for:
n organic production only on fields that have not been used for conventional farming for three years
n organic fields to be separated from conventional production fields to prevent drift
n seeds and seedlings to be sown or planted in organic fields not be “obtained through genetic recombinant technologies”
n no irradiation
Under the proposed standards, third-party certifiers must register with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Minister’s Office. Once bilateral agreements are reached on the equivalency of certification systems, Japan may be able to recognize foreign certifiers, the embassy report says. To date, however, details regarding procedures for registering with the ministry have not been released.