Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502100062
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press|
DATELINE: TOKYO LENGTH: Medium
After 24 years as a forbidden fruit, American apples are finally taking a bite of the Japanese market.
It's been a month since U.S. apples hit the stores, and they are selling briskly. But for the popularity to continue, industry officials say, producers need to keep prices low and assure Japanese consumers that the fruit is safe after a brief pesticide scare last week.
``The report card is that the taste is pretty good. And the size is pocket-type, so they've been popular,'' said Kiyotaka Kurosu of the Seiyu supermarket chain.
Although Japan opened its apple market in 1971, it always kept out U.S. apples because they supposedly contained pests not found in Japan.
But last year, the government approved imports from a few growers who follow rigorous handling procedures and undergo inspections by officials sent from Tokyo. The first apples went on sale in Japan on Jan. 9.
``It's gone very well,'' Brent Evans, Asia marketing director for the Washington Apple Commission, said Wednesday. He said American growers will export about 14,000 tons of Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples to Japan through March 31, and about half of them have been sold already.
But Evans acknowledged that growers had a big scare when trace amounts of thiabendazole - a post-harvest antirot fungicide not permitted in Japan - were found on a few American apples.
The mistake was traced to a packing plant in Washington that had failed to replace brushes used to clean pears that had been treated with the fungicide, he said. He said no one's health was put at risk.
``It's embarrassing, even though it's a very minute level,'' said Evans, who made an emergency trip to Tokyo from his office in Hong Kong last week after the problem was discovered. ``We're worried more about the perception.''
Japanese consumers are among the pickiest in the world, and farm groups and media often stress the potential dangers of food imports.
Local newspapers and television stations reported the pesticide discovery, but supermarket officials say it did not have a major impact on sales.
Price also is critical for imported apples. Japanese customarily have seen apples as a luxury, to be carefully peeled and enjoyed as an after-dinner delicacy. U.S. growers want to persuade Japanese to enjoy apples as a lunchbox staple or afternoon snack, but that will happen only if the price is right.
For this season, the American imports amount to just 1 percent of total Japanese consumption. The small volume tends to drive up costs, but Evans said the number of export-certified apple growers in Washington is expected to multiply by 10 to 15 times next season.
``If the price isn't down, probably they're not going to sell,'' said Nobuyuki Noguchi, food manager at an Ito-Yokado department store in Tokyo.
Noguchi's store was selling U.S. Red Delicious apples for the equivalent of 50 cents, while larger Japanese Fuji apples were going for $1.
``They taste good and they're cheap,'' said customer Akinori Itaya, 30, who like many urban consumers said he was pleased with the growing number of low-priced imports in grocery stores.
by CNB