The Japanese government adopted a strategy on Monday to boost exports of food products, as well as agricultural and fishery goods, in order to meet its goal of expanding such exports to 5 trillion yen in 2030. Under the strategy, 27 items including beef, scallops, apples and yellowtail are designated for intensive production support. "We'll conduct reform to shift from the stance of exporting redundant products to the standpoint that everyone engaged in production, processing, distribution and sales should commit to what the markets demand," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a meeting of related ministers on the day.
The strategy includes item-by-item export targets for 2025, with the target on beef exports set at 160 billion yen, up about 5.4-fold from 2019. Demand for Japanese beef is expected from China, with which Japan is negotiating to start shipments. To achieve the 2025 targets, the government plans to select some areas producing the designated food items for technical, financial and other support.