Overview
Japan, with a population of about 125 million, is a major importer
of agricultural products. Japan's mountainous topography limits the
total area available for farming, and the farm area is divided into
holdings that are too small to produce most foods efficiently in a
modern, urban economy. Japan protects key sectors of its agricultural
production with tariffs, which have contributed to high food costs
in Japan. Despite the protection, Japan imports over $30 billion in
agricultural products each year, one-third from the United States,
the leading supplier of Japan's agricultural imports. Japan is one
of the largest export markets for U.S. agriculture. ERS analyzes important
aspects of Japan's food and agricultural sectors and the policies
that affect Japan's role in world agricultural trade.
Features
The Japanese
Market for Oranges (March 2008) reviews the trade,
production, and consumption of oranges in Japan, which
is one of the largest markets for U.S. orange exports.
Consumption and trade peaked in the mid-1990s. The report
uses recent research findings about demographic and economic
changes that might explain why consumption has fallen off
in the past 15 years.
Resolution of
the U.S.-Japan Apple Dispute: New Opportunities for Trade (October
2005) examines the expected impact of Japan's new phytosanitary
protocol for imports of U.S.
apples that complies with the recent World Trade Organization
ruling. With the elimination of the restrictive fire-blight
protocol, U.S.
producers have a new opportunity to export apples to a high-quality
export market, at a significantly lower cost than before.
Japan's agricultural policies and their effects are the object
of an ongoing study by ERS and the USDA Foreign Agricultural
Service's
Tokyo office. The ERS outlook series includes articles written
as part of the project on policies specific to certain commodities
in Japan, such as rice,
wheat and barley,
dairy, pork, oilseeds,
vegetables,
and
sweeteners. Additional
articles are planned on policies affecting beef, fruits, and feedstuffs.
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