2008 Volume 60 Issue 2 Pages 163-182
Japan has been increasing its importation of farm products, in terms of both volume and variety, especially since the late 1980s. Concurrently, there has been much research on the formation of vegetable-producing regions for export, and importation from Asian developing countries, especially China. However, as about 50% of farm products now imported by Japan come from advanced countries such as the U. S., Canada and Australia, the purpose of this study was to give a more complete picture of Japan’s agricultural trade. Therefore I decided to take up the import of citrus fruits from the U. S. in this study.
Citrus trade liberalization has been a very important political topic between Japan and the U. S. since 1960. After dismantling the orange import quota system in 1991, Japanese mandarin-producing areas were forced to shrink under pressure of imported California orange products. This paper examined the regional change of California citrus-producing areas (CCPA) since 1991. The findings are summarized below:
1. CCPA expanded largely during the 1990s as orange exports to Japan increased. From 2000 on however, CCPA shrank due to the demand for Valencia oranges by Japan being replaced by its demand for navel oranges from Southern Hemisphere regions. Grapefruit production in CCPA also decreased as a result of competition from Florida in the export of that product.
2. These changes in the citrus market conditions promoted regional specialization in CCPA. CCPA consists of 2 areas, the San Joaquin Valley Area (SVA) and the Southern California Area (SCA). The main product of SVA is navel oranges while that of SCA are Valencia oranges and grapefruits, which have become less popular in Japan in recent years. Japanese consumers had traditionally favored the SCA Valencia oranges but after dismantling the orange quota system, demand in the Japanese market dramatically shifted to navel oranges, damaging the citrus export volume of SCA.
3. These regional specializations (rise and fall) will probably continue as SCA is located in the expanding Los Angeles metropolitan area where citrus groves are likely to be developed for urban land use. However, as SCA is less apt to freeze or suffer frost than SVA, the maintenance of SCA is important for the whole CCPA industry. Therefore, the task of Sunkist Growers, Inc., which was founded in SCA, is a very important one. It is to find new markets for Valencia orange products.
The recent shrinkage of SCA was related to trends in the Japanese market. After the year 2000, orange exports to Japan decreased, but now Japan is the No. 1 citrus fruits customer of export market traders. This condition will continue for the foreseeable future. So CCPA must monitor the consumer trends of the Japanese market.
