Differences among Producing Regions and their Interrelationships in the Pricing System of Umeboshi

Abstract

This study analyzes a pricing system in a series of transactions, from production of green ume, Japanese plums, through to retail selling of umeboshi, the pickled plums. A pricing system intends to view a process in which a seller and a buyer settle on a certain price, by focusing on the methods (auctions, negotiations, formulas, etc.). This presentation employs the case of umeboshi to show that the pricing system has differences among producing regions, and these regional systems relate to each other to form one compositive system as a whole.