It is estimated that one in five Japanese eat or use an organic product at least once a week, creating more demand than the country alone can deliver, according to information provided by BioFach Japan and reported by Organic and Wellness News. The current volume of both domestic and imported organic products total more than 150 billion Japanese Yen or $1.3 billion. Consumers’ growing taste for fresh organic vegetables along with miso and soy beans continues to fuel interest of the organic market among the population, said Toshi Ayukawa, BioFach Japan. “But what is popular on the organic scene doesn’t necessarily mirror western industrialized countries. Gluten-free products get little attention in Japan compared to the ever-popular soy beans imported in large amounts from Brazil,” said Ayukawa in the news report. The organic movement has taken longer to capture cultural interest in Japan than other parts of the world possibly because the country has stricter government controls on food products, according to Organic and Wellness News, noting insiders also point to a sluggish economy paired with devastation from two major disasters of the tsunami and nuclear power plant in 2011 as likely contributing factors. The 14th edition of the trade show slated [...]
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