AOMORI -- At least 13,000 apples have been stolen since October during this harvest season in Aomori Prefecture.
Although exports of the fruit produced in the prefecture remain strong, consumers are seeing higher prices this year because of pre-harvest losses caused by typhoon No. 21 in September. These factors are seen as contributing to the thefts, compounding an already bad situation for farmers.
According to the Aomori Prefectural Police, a man who looks after apple trees in Tsugaru in the prefecture found on Thursday morning that Fuji apples, one of the main varieties, had been plucked off the trees. That loss of about 5,000 Fuji apples stolen from more than 20 trees cost the farm as much as 400,000 yen.
A 43-year-old male farmer in Kuroishi in the prefecture suffered a similar theft of about 1,200 apples before harvesting, equivalent to 270,000 yen. "I have taken care of them since March this year. This is unforgivable," he said with anger.
The farmer found a stranger's footprints in his orchard on Oct. 26 and identified the damages. Just a few days later he was hit by another theft and reported the matter to the police.
He has had to buy apples from other local farmers to fulfill orders he already received. He suspects that someone knowledgeable about the fruit may have been involved in the incidents, saying: "The stolen apples were all ripe and in good quality. Those damaged by the typhoon were left untouched."
Since the beginning of October, apples have been stolen in various cities in the prefecture: about 4,300 Fuji (worth about 500,000 yen) in Hirosaki; about 1,700 Fuji and other varieties (worth about 180,000 yen) in Hirakawa; and about 800 Kogyoku and others (worth about 60,000 yen) in Aomori.
According to the prefectural government, the average sales price of the fruit harvested this year was 309 yen per kilogram on the domestic market in September -- a record high in the last 10 years. Prices rose 19 percent from the same month the previous year in five major markets, those being Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
The higher prices are a result of the overall smaller supply of the fruit due to the typhoon, accompanied by an estimated 10 percent decline in yields of top-quality crops for gifts due to blemishes caused by the typhoon.
Prices remain high
According to the Ota Market in Tokyo, apples grown in Iwate and Nagano prefectures are now on the market. Their prices are several percent higher than last year.
Tokyo Seika Co. said that more apples grown in Aomori Prefecture will be available from mid-November. Regarding top-quality apples for gifts, there is a possibility that their prices could rise due to the reduced supply caused by the typhoon.
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