2007 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 57-70
Japanese agriculture constantly maintains a severe environment where there is a continuous decrease in production and the depression of the sales price. Under the recognition of the high price of domestic farm products, Japanese agriculture has remained defensive and protective in order to guard itself against the import of cheaper agricultural products. However, even in an environment of export deterioration, there is an agricultural product that has continued to be exported. It is necessary to examine the background that led to the possibility of that agricultural product being continuously exported and the problem that has been left behind because of that same exportation. It is also necessary to determine a strategic possibility that will allow Japanese farm exports to thrive. Under trade liberalization, the agriculture of fruit cultivation has been compelled to operate in serious conditions. Although functioning under these circumstances, some Japanese fruits have been successfully exported to foreign countries. There is one case where up to 18% of one prefecture’s pear shipments were exported. It is the case of the Nijisseiki pear, an export of Tottori Prefecture. This thesis examines in detail the correlation between the export environment and the construction of the pear export system, through the field research conducted in Tottori Prefecture’s pear producing districts. Moreover, it searches for factors, which have resulted in the decrease of export amounts since 1997 from changes in the export environment and the analysis of the marketing strategy of producing districts. When there are reductions in the domestic market, the export market will expand and gain in importance, as can be seen in the adjustments made in securing the stability of the supply and demand of the domestic market for the producer of the Nijisseiki pear in Tottori Prefecture. Even though exporting was difficult, that particular export system was able to continue its exports. The export system was constructed by the Nijisseiki pear’s cultivator, the prefectural level of Agricultural Cooperatives JA, and other related organizations, all of which understand the advantages of exporting. It was this collaboration that undertook the responsibility and supplied the effort necessary to make the system. After 1997, exports have decreased, because the competition has intensified in the foreign markets, this in turn decreased the amount of domestic production. In addition, according to a primary level agricultural cooperative JA (Senkazyo: cooperative’s fruit sorting place), the recognition and correspondence to its export are different. Some primary level agricultural cooperative JA positively participated in exporting, and all farmers who cultivated the Nijisseiki pear realized and received the benefits of exporting. The case of the exportation of the Nijisseiki pear, from Tottori Prefecture, gives one clear incentive to Japanese agriculture today.
