Event Reports

Tomoshige Sakamoto of the Canadian Beef Export Federation says Japan’s rule that beef imported from Canada must come from animals under 21 months of age results in higher prices and lower sales. Canada’s beef exports to Japan this year are expected to reach 3,400 tonnes. Although that is 60% more...

The Asia Pacific region will experience slower economic growth in 2008, but is likely to avoid a sharp downturn due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US, according to the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s annual State of the Region report. PECC forecasters expect 4.9% real GDP growth for...

Starting in April of 2008, Canada Pork International (CPI) will offer 2-day training courses in Japan for pork buyers from Japanese supermarkets. The buyers will learn about pork production in Canada, butchering techniques, and quality maintenance. CPI is offering the courses to raise awareness of...

Japan’s national broadcaster NHK announced that it has signed a contract to supply programs to Discovery Channel Canada. NHK will supply over 70 hours of programming between now and September 2010. Information summarized from: Nikkei courtesy of Canadian Embassy Translation Services, Tokyo

British Columbia’s Minister of State for Mining, Kevin Krueger, recently visited Japan following a visit to China. In a Japanese newspaper interview, he stressed BC’s rich and wide-ranging mineral resources and appealed for Japanese investment. He emphasized that BC’s coal was of high quality and...

Auctions of Canadian herring roe have been underway for nearly a month in Osaka, Kobe, and Nagoya. Canadian fishing restrictions resulting in a smaller catch are raising prices in Japan. Roe sold under the "Yellow Diamonds" brand is 10-30% more expensive than last year. Even so, dealers recommend...

Negotiations between Canada’s largest potash producer, Canpotex, and Japanese potash buyers (agriculture cooperatives and trading companies) over the January-to-June 2008 price of potash have ended with the Japanese side accepting a price hike of 40 to 50%, the largest in history. Prices have been...

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada has announced details of its Research Grants Program which is principally funded through the proceeds of an endowment established by the Government of Canada. It is designed to support research and informed discussion on public policy issues related to Canada's...

Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Gerry Ritz met with Japan’s Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture Masahiro Imamura on the sidelines of an FAO (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization) meeting in Rome in November. Aiming for an end to Japan’s strict age limits for imported beef...

Japan’s Kochi Prefecture recently sent a 23-member mission on an 8-day study trip to Canada to learn about biomass energy and environmentally friendly tourism. In Toronto the group met CEO David Layzell of BIOCAP, a Canadian organization promoting use of biomass fuels. It also visited BIOX...

Sixty tonnes of tangerines (mikan) from Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo have been shipped from Shimizu port to Canada where they will be sold as "Christmas oranges" under the Sun brand. Director Yoshiharu Ishiguro of the JA (Japan Agriculture) fruit centre in Shonan says, "We like to export...

The Canadian Pacific Kazunoko (herring roe) Association organized a seminar in Nagoya last month sponsored by the Japan Dietetic Association and Healthy Nippon 21 Council. Two experts presented research suggesting that regular herring roe consumption may reduce blood cholesterol. They also stated...