Edamame strategy targets precisely, Irwin mango successfully positioned in the Tokyo market
The previous article told the blood-and-tears history of Taiwanese fruit losing ground step by step in Japan, but Taiwan is not entirely without merit. For example, southern Taiwan's pride, the Irwin mango, although it once left a negative impression of being harvested early and ripened artificially, has successfully found its own positioning and remains an unshakable premium product exported to Japan.
The way forward for Taiwan's tropical fruit: the high-end fresh-eating market
Irwin mango exports are concentrated just before Japan's Obon festival. When local people buy Irwin mangoes, it is like Taiwanese people giving Fuji apple gift boxes during Chinese New Year and festivals. On the shelves of Japanese supermarkets, Irwin mangoes are ultra-high-unit-price luxury goods, priced per fruit. A mango the size of a palm can be worth over a thousand yen, equal to NT$300, and an ordinary household may not buy one even once a year.
Although according to 2014 statistics from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, by weight, the top mango importer is Mexico with 38.7%, followed by the Philippines at 17.7%, and Thailand third with 16.7%. Taiwan ranks only fourth at 10.3%, exporting 759 metric tons. However, Mexican and Philippine mangoes are mostly used for processing, while Taiwanese Irwin mangoes are for the fresh-eating market. The average price per kilogram is 863 yen (about NT$250), double Mexico's 405 yen, and also higher than Thailand's 595 yen and the Philippines' 454 yen. In recent years, export value has roughly stayed around NT$180 million, clearly showing that Taiwanese Irwin mangoes have successfully carved out a high-end fresh-eating market in Japan.
On the left, a banana variety less than 10 cm long, suitable for children to eat (photo / Lin Hui-chen)
The lettuce market shows a similar situation. In the past, winter temperatures in Japan were too low to grow vegetables, and around the Lunar New Year was the peak season for Taiwanese lettuce exports to Japan, but Mailiao Fruit and Vegetable Production Cooperative's production planning specialist Kuo Shu-fen said that in recent years Japanese people have realized they rely too much on Taiwan in winter and have begun providing guidance on greenhouse cultivation of lettuce in various places, covering Ibaraki in the north, Chiba in Kanto, and Kumamoto and Awaji in the south. The same is true for Solanaceae plants. "In the future, the time they rely on Taiwan for supply may become shorter and shorter."
The cautionary tale of Taiwanese bananas is not far off. As Japan vigorously expands overseas operations and breeding and cultivation techniques in various countries continue to advance, how Taiwan can carve out its own positioning in the cracks of globalization is likely an even more urgent issue after the food exhibition closes.