Food safety issues in Japan may boost the demand for vegetable produce exported to Japan from Sacramento. Sacramento ships much of its locally-grown rice and fresh asparagus crops to Japan. Usually, 10 percent of California's asparagus production goes to Japan. At the same time, Japanese asparagus growers normally compete with California's product later in the season.
Sacramento also ships to Japan specialty crops such as blueberries, cherries, pomegranates, and a very small amount of strawberries. But with electricity problems wracked by Earthquake aftershocks, where would Japan store crops such as blueberries and cherries? That’s a current issue being discussed by Sacramento growers who each season export their crops to Japan.
After the earthquake, there appeared to be a stoppage of food coming into Japan from Sacramento crop growers. The farmers are waiting for Japan to communicate what crops of fruit or vegetables the country would like exported to Japan currently from Sacramento and the rest of California.
The radiation and other Earthquake-related issues in Japan may provide a way for Sacramento crop growers to export more food to Japan, but that depends upon whether Japan asks for the exports. Japan uses a lot of open-air retail and wholesale markets rather than emphasizing only cold storage for holding onto imported produce.
Fresh produce needs cold storage after a short period of time. Exports suddenly stopped right after the Earthquake followed by the radiation leakage and the shortages of electricity. Sacramento farmers are waiting for contact by Japan to communicate Japan’s needs.
For information on how much asparagus is shipped to Japan from Sacramento, see the website of the California Asparagus Commission, which is located in Stockton. Check out the Sunday, April 10, 2011 Sacramento Bee article by, Anne Gonzales, “California's farm exports to Japan uncertain - Sacramento Business.” Sacramento and the rest of California also exports to Japan strawberries, cherries, rice and nuts. But with electricity problems in Japan, would there be a way to keep cold storage going? After the Earthquake, business shut down in the ports.
Grapes, tomatoes, meat, eggs and even hardwood are waiting in the wings as harvest seasons go into motion and distribution lines start to stabilize. How much food will Japan ask Sacramento to export there? In fact, local California growers, ship more than $1 billion worth of product annually to Japan, are cautiously watching for effects of the drifting radiation on exports.Rolling blackouts and shortage of electricity are affecting the foods exported to Japan from Sacramento, for example, crops such as rice, asparagus, and other foods. The effect of radiation leaks on Japan's food supply, or even the perception of food safety concerns, may drive up imports from California. Changes in consumer habits and food security issues will likely affect prices for crops. The problem is that in Sacramento with all the early rains this area has experienced this winter, has kept the asparagus supply low. Then the recent warmer weather encouraged harvesting, packing, and shipping of asparagus in the local areas of California. But in May, the local demand for asparagus is lessened. So growers focus on exporting asparagus, and Japan gets a lot of that local crop.
The issue is that asparagus exports to Japan may be off slightly this year. When the disaster struck, it severely disrupted the tail end of the Mexican asparagus season. You also have slowed shipments and also Mexican asparagus growers exporting to Japan. And it has been difficult to get food relief supplies such as asparagus to Japan from Sacramento and surrounding areas. There’s a local Lodi-based international wholesaler and distributor.
Right now, Japan wants Sacramento crops, but no one is certain how high the demand is. One major restaurant supplier put orders on hold for 10 days, and has now started slowly taking product, according to the Sacramento Bee article, “California's farm exports to Japan uncertain - Sacramento Business.”
You get obtain more information about Sacramento’s export markets from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Sacramento farmers hope that by late April and May when the cherries are ready to be exported to Japan, the electrical shortage problems will have been solved. During a disaster, oddly, luxury food items are in demand. Local farmers are waiting to find out what Japan really needs and asks for when it comes to Sacramento’s crops.
Comments