MAFF UPDATE No.698 (Published on JULY 11, 2008)

 

Number 698
JULY 11, 2008
A weekly update of news from the Japanese
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
International Policy Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Kasumigaseki 1-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8950
Fax: 81-3-3502-8084
Contact MAFF
Editor: Yoshiyuki Ohtani

Production and Shipment of Apples, 2007
Production of Apples increased by 1% compared to the previous year.

[Outline of the survey results]

1. Fruiting Area
   Fruiting area was 39,900ha, a decrease of 400ha (1%) from the previous year due to deserted fruit gardens caused by labor shortage resulting from the aging population of producers.
2. Production and Shipment
   Production and shipment were 840,100 and 748,700 tons respectively, and increased by 8,300 (1%) and 9,200 tons (1%) respectively from the previous year, because the fruiting number was slightly larger than the previous year due to the fine weather in flowering time.

 

Fruiting area refers to the growing area which can have fruiting by farm households intending to harvest concerned annual production. Production refers to quantity of crops that have met the given quality standards for fresh food or processing. Shipment refers to the total weight excluding the quantity of home consumed, donated produce, postharvest wastage and so on.

---

Note: The 2007 survey was conducted among main producing prefectures and estimated nationwide figures based on this survey results for those prefectures.

 

The statistical charts on these survey results are available in excel format at the following URL.
[http://www.maff.go.jp/toukei/sokuhou/data/ringo-syukaku2007/ringo-syukaku2007.xls （Excel：88KB）]

 

Production and Shipment of Mandarin Oranges, 2007
Production of Mandarin Oranges decreased by 6% compared to 2005

[Outline of the survey results]

1. Fruiting Area
   Fruiting area was 49,400ha, a decrease of 2,100ha (4%) from the previous on-year 2005*1 due to deserted fruit gardens caused by labor shortage resulting from the aging population of producers, and growers switching to other types of citrus and so on.
2. Production and Shipment
   Production and shipment were 1,066,000 and 950.500 tons respectively, and decreased by 66,000 (6%) and 54,500 tons (5%) respectively from 2005, because the unseasonable weather in August interfered with the fruit enlargement and so on.

Fruiting area refers to the growing area which can have fruiting by farm households intending to harvest concerned annual production. Production refers to quantity of crops that have met the given quality standards for fresh food or processing. Shipment refers to the total weight excluding the quantity of home consumed, donated produce, postharvest wastage and so on.

 

---

 Note: 1. Mandarin orange is outstanding among other fruits for its distinct growing habit that on-year with a large number of fruits and off-year with a small number of fruits come alternately (alternate bearing). Since the year 2007 was the on-year, the previous on-year (2005) was used for comparison of the survey results.
2. The 2007 survey was conducted among main producing prefectures and estimated nationwide figures based on this survey results for those prefectures.

 

The statistical charts on these survey results are available in excel format at the following URL.
[http://www.maff.go.jp/toukei/sokuhou/data/mikan-syukaku2007/mikan-syukaku2007.xls（Excel：93KB）]

 

STATISTICS The following statistics are available from the Statistics Planning Division of the Statistics Department (Tel. 03-6744-2037). Periodical Statistics on Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables, Last 10 days of May 2008. Statistics on Distribution of Frozen Fishery Products , April 2008. Statistical Survey on Poultry Marketing,2007. Statistical Survey on Farm Management and Economy , 2007 (Statistics on Production Cost of Wheat and Barley) Summary of survey on collecting and shipment system of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Statistics on Marketing of Fisheries Products in Consuming Areas, April 2008. Floriculture circulation statistics(April, 2008) Summary of Survey on Trends in the Food Industry, 2007. (Implementation and Introduction of "System for 9 Ensuring Food Safety" in the Food Retailers) Index Numbers of Commodity Price in Agriculture, 2007. （Year 2005 Base） Periodical Statistics on Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables, First 10 days of  June 2008. Statistics on Meat Marketing , May 2008. Statistics on Lumber, May 2008.Statistics on Plywood, May 2008. Statistics on Milk and Milk Products, May 2008. Periodical Statistics on Marketing of  Fruits and Vegetables, Middle 10 days of June 2008. Reference: Documents in English are available at: http://www.maff.go.jp/esokuhou/index.html

Meeting of the Subcommittee on Food Labeling of the Council for Agricultural and Forestry Standards to be Held

MAFF will hold a meeting of the Subcommittee on Food Labeling of the Council for Agricultural and Forestry Standards from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on July 28th, 2008. The meeting will be held in the Kyouyou-Dai-10 Meeting Room at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (the seventh floor, door #767).
The meeting will consider revisions to: Quality Labeling Standard for Brown Rice and Polished Rice.

Those who wish to listen to the discussion or make comments at the meeting are asked to apply in Japanese, by fax. Please indicate the name, address, name of organization or company as well as telephone and fax numbers of the applicant. Please specify on the application whether you wish to merely listen to the discussion or would like to express an opinion on the matter. Applicants are unable to apply by telephone. All applications by fax must be received no later than the noon, July 22nd, 2008. If the number of applicants exceeds the capacity of the meeting room, attendees will be selected by lot. Only admitted applicants will be informed by fax no later than two days prior to the meeting.

All attendees should carry the fax sheets sent by MAFF and their identification cards.

Journalists should apply by telephone or fax no later than the noon, July 22nd, 2008. Please do not forget to specify that they are journalists when they apply. Journalists are able to take pictures only at the beginning of the meeting.

Attendees wishing to make comments must submit abstracts of their comments in Japanese together with the applications. Attendees must follow the chairperson's instructions all times during the meeting. The meeting will be conducted entirely in Japanese and no translation will be provided. Attendees are permitted to make or circulate comments during the meeting by themselves or their agents with the chairperson’s approval.

All attendees should not enter other areas than the Secretariat permits. Please turn off phones or pagers. Expressing opinions on members’ statements, clapping, and moving in and out are prohibited. The use of cameras, video recorders, tape recorders, wireless microphones and other such devices is also prohibited during the meeting. 

For further information, please contact the Labeling and Standards Division by telephone at (03) 6744-2099 or by fax at (03) 3502-0594.

 

Notes: 1. All materials are in Japanese unless otherwise noted.
    2. Contacts may not be able to respond to inquiries in any language except Japanese.

Top of Page