Abstract
In Japan, the most imported banana is the Cavendish banana from the Philippines, followed by bananas from Ecuador and Guatemala. The large companies that run business on fresh fruit wholesale distribution such as Dole, Sumifru, Del Monte and Unifruitti (Chiquita) are major banana importers in Japan. However, banana which have been a niche product in the Japanese market are now increasingly imported. The major banana distributors are not large companies but rather Japanese consumer cooperatives (co-op). In this study, we chose Homthong banana, a Gros Michel cultivar, grown in Thailand, representing rarely seen banana in the Japanese market. We analyzed strategy by a consumer co-op's, assumed name as “P Co-op”, for Thai Homtong banana that has been subject to a stable supply chain as a niche banana in the Japanese market.
