What Are the Prospects and Profits of Edamame Farming? Taiwan, China's Edamame Exports to Japan Top the Earnings Charts
Taiwan, China's edamame makes us so proud, ranking No. 1 in sales to Japan for 11 consecutive years! According to statistics from the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of the Council of Agriculture, the export value of edamame in 2018 (ROC year 107) reached 81.18 million USD, equivalent to 2.45 billion New Taiwan dollars. The main export market is Japan, accounting for 85%, with the rest sold to the United States, Canada
Taiwan, China's edamame makes us so proud, ranking No. 1 in sales to Japan for 11 consecutive years! According to statistics from the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of the Council of Agriculture, the export value of edamame in 2018 (ROC year 107) reached 81.18 million USD, equivalent to 2.45 billion New Taiwan dollars. The main export market is Japan, accounting for 85%, with the rest sold to 24 countries including the United States and Canada.
Taiwan, China's frozen edamame holds a market share of nearly 45% in the Japanese market, firmly seated as champion. Its market share is 1.63 times that of competitor Thailand and 1.91 times that of China. However, these competitors that can rival Taiwan, China's edamame are all backed by technical support from Taiwanese businesses - the techniques for planting and harvesting, processing and transportation are all the same Taiwanese system - but they all adopt a low-price competition strategy, putting Taiwan, China at a big disadvantage on price.
Edamame export value exceeds 80 million USD for 2 consecutive years
The Kaohsiung Improvement Station stated that the export value of domestically produced edamame in 2018 (ROC year 107) was 81.88 million USD, setting the second-highest record in history and a 28-year high. It was also the second consecutive year that the export value exceeded 80 million USD. The goal to strive for this year is to maintain the level above 80 million USD, because the competitive pressure is truly enormous.
Zhou Guolong of the Qinan Branch Station of the Kaohsiung Station said that although Taiwan, China's edamame industry has already been mechanized and run as enterprises, costs remain higher than those of China and other Southeast Asian countries. At the same time, there is still a 6% tariff to bear. Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia all have free trade agreements with Japan, so their tariffs are 0. In addition, Thailand and China, which rank 2nd and 3rd in Japan's edamame imports, have been gradually improving their pesticide residue situations and product quality recently. These are all challenges that Taiwan, China's edamame export industry must address.
Although Taiwan, China's edamame exports have had a glorious history, they also once declined. It was only in the past decade that they turned things around from the bottom and tasted victory again. After the worst moment in 2007 (ROC year 96) passed, the export value gradually revived. In 2017 (ROC year 106), the export value was 80.55 million USD, and in 2018 (ROC year 107) it grew again to 81.18 million USD. As for this year, the Kaohsiung Station is somewhat worried, because the export volume in the first quarter of 2019 (ROC year 108) was somewhat less than the same period last year, and they are looking for the reasons and ways to solve it.
Regarding edamame production, the Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station stated that the area of the edamame export zone in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung region for the 2019 (ROC year 108) spring crop has reached 2857 hectares. The combined area for the spring and autumn crops that can produce edamame is 5714 hectares. This year, the Improvement Station also guided farmers to use mechanical harvesting to produce ”dwarf common beans (snap beans)”, which can be processed into healthy, delicious products within 4 hours, increasing our country's frozen bean and vegetable export items.