There has been an increasing number of cases in which domestically developed varieties of strawberries and grapes are surreptitiously grown overseas. Efforts should be made to secure the protection of pertinent rights and defend these precious brands.
There was much talk about the South Korean-grown strawberries eaten by the Japanese women's curling team during a halftime break at the Pyeongchang Olympics. "[The strawberries] tasted good," a member of the team said about them. This prompted Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Ken Saito's revelation at a press conference that "[They are] a hybrid created using the Japanese variety."
According to the agriculture ministry, 90 percent of South Korean-grown strawberries are derived from Japanese varieties. South Korea's strawberry exports total 4,000 tons annually, and they are believed to be worth as much as several billions of yen.
The reality involving high-grade grapes has been brought to light: Shine Muscat grapes, a variety developed by a Japanese national research institution, are grown in China.
There must be more than a few cases in which unauthorized activities to cultivate agricultural varieties of Japanese origin could have been prevented if they had been registered with other nations under international rules. It is safe to say that a high price has been paid for our nation's failure to keep a watchful eye on the overseas market.
The application deadline for registering varieties abroad has been set at a period within four to six years following the start of domestic sales. It is too late to register many well-known varieties of Japanese origin now.
Focus on export rights
Japan's agricultural policy has not placed importance on exports for many years. Agricultural experiment stations or other facilities undertaking the development of new varieties tend to be content if they can protect the rights involved in this country. It is important for the farm ministry to take the initiative in promoting efforts to change organizations' way of thinking about the issue.
The government regards agricultural and marine product exports as one of the main pillars of its growth strategy. It has announced it will seek to reach a 1 trillion yen target in such exports annually by the end of 2019. In 2017, the figure stood only at 807.3 billion yen, and some have said it is necessary to take new measures to bolster efforts in this area.
Regarding the fruits and vegetables developed in Japan, the agricultural ministry will start a survey on the state of their production and distribution in China, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other areas in fiscal 2018.
Quick measures will be taken to address the fruits and vegetables that can plausibly be exported, if the application deadline for registration can be met in these nations. There has been rapidly expanding demand for high-grade food in the Asian market. There must be no further delays in addressing the problem.
In many cases, it takes more than 1 million yen in expenses to register a variety with each foreign country. There are differences in the regulations and documentary forms involved, and this is a factor behind the hesitation felt by fruit and vegetable developers in applying for the registration of new varieties.
In fiscal 2016, the government started extending subsidies related to these expenditures and set up a section in charge of providing consultations. Further efforts should be made to expand assistance in completing necessary procedures and other matters.
The three prefectural governments of Chiba, Mie and Kagawa have formed a tie-up with a major seed and seedling company, looking to internationally market Yotsuboshi, a variety of strawberry they have jointly developed. They expect to draw on the company's abundant expertise in overseas operations.
It is hoped that the public and private sectors will deepen effective cooperation by studying cases of such pioneering endeavors.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 19, 2018)
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