Abstract
Since 1985 (especially post-1995) the import of vegetables to Japan has increased rapidly because of the strong Japanese yen and deregulation on the import of agricultural products. Recently imports from East Asia, including China, have been gaining a large share of the total. It is said that global sourcing activity by grocery retailers and food services is now prevailing in the field of not only processed foods but also perishable agricultural products. This paper analyzes the strategy and policy for vegetable procurement adopted by Japanese retailers and food services, based on case studies of ten representative corporations. The result of this study is as follows: There cannot be observed just a single direction of vegetable procurement strategies for the retail and food service corporations. While the corporations that pursue efficiency or low price are apt to choose procurement of imported vegetables, it is not applicable to the corporations that give top priority to the quality of their products and service. Quality-oriented corporations still stick to use of domestically-produced vegetables for sake of freshness and safety. Corporations being faithful to the chain store operation theory aim at the expansion of global procurement, while on the other hand, the ones adopting the diversification of store formula attach much importance to local procurement. Procurement decision-making is basically prescribed by the marketing and operational strategies, and finally corporate idea or policy.
