The whole world has always admired the way the Japanese grow and sell special agricultural products at expensive prices, but always sell goods. But getting there isn’t just a “rose-lined road”. A recent article on the Health Pure Simple site said that the way the Japanese grow and sell super expensive and super profitable agricultural products is really a super valuable lesson.
And Vietnam can fully learn from the experience of the Japanese.
Lessons from Japan
Japan has no advantage in agriculture due to the lack of agricultural land. As of 2019, the country has only 1.3 million farmer households and more than 65% of farmers are over 60 years old. However, on average, each Japanese farmer exports agricultural products worth USD 40,000 (more than VND 900 million) every year.
Not only do the Japanese apply digital technology to agricultural production, but they also know how to tell the story of their journey to create specialty fruits.
In the Vietnamese market, Japanese apples have been a popular commodity in recent years, although the price ranges from VND 1.5-2 million (USD 70-90)/kg. But besides the high price, consumers remember the story of farmer Kimura who spent 10 years trying to create the miracle apple variety for Japan.
Apples are becoming the number one fruit that Japan exports to the world. Photo: Tokyo Weekender
Apples were grown in the Iwaki region at the time, but farming techniques in Japan still relied heavily on pesticides. Kimura’s four apple orchards are also bearing fruit thanks to the regular spraying of pesticides. Apples from the Iwaki region all have the same taste.
However, his wife’s health was not good and she became sensitive to pesticides. Because he loved his wife, he abandoned the old farming method. But without the spraying of pesticides, apple trees will not bloom and bear fruit.
After years of trying different breeding methods, Mr. Kimura realized that the problem was not the pests, but the soil, its relationship with nature, insects, surrounding animals and water sources.
After eight years of hard work with the new method, one of his more than 400 apple trees bloomed and bore fruit in the fall. Two apples appeared like a miracle in the middle of a garden that had been dry and depleted for decades. Mr. Kimura called them two “miracle apples”.
The following season, apple blossoms bloom white throughout the garden. He was no longer afraid of insect damage when the garden returned to its natural balance. The methods he uses do not disrupt the natural order because they are plant-safe probiotics.
A perfect process was born. In the spring, when the apple tree bloomed, it manually removed the odd flower clusters, leaving only some of the prettiest flowers for pollination. When the apple tree bears green fruit, prune the fruit further, leaving only one fruit on each branch. In late fall and early winter, apples begin to ripen evenly red, the soil is large and round and meets harvesting standards.
With this farming method, Mr. Kimura’s apples changed Japanese agriculture, especially apple growing.
The apples he planted have a long shelf life without wilting, have a mild fragrance and beautiful colours. Praised by politicians and celebrities, the “miracle apples” are served for dessert in upscale Tokyo restaurants, where you need to book a table a year in advance to enjoy them.
Apples have also become the main fruit that Japan exports to the world, bringing farmers a high income.
In Japan, however, there is not only the story of Mr. Kimura’s miracle apple, but also stories about the Ruby Roman grape, the peony, the black watermelon and the Yubari melon, …
Each fruit has its own flavour, a story related to the land, the people and strict cultivation and harvesting processes.
These stories are widely disseminated to consumers. That is why fruit auctions are held in Japan every year. Some people are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy two mangoes, a few melons, or a bunch of grapes.
The “story” of Vietnam needs to be told more
Vietnam is a country with assets to develop agriculture with a large area of fruit trees. However, when Vietnam sells products to the world, it only has a large output, not a super profit. According to author Lori A. Abernethy, Vietnamese farmers may have forgotten to tell the story of the culture, history and farming process of the land that produced the products.
With many years of experience in the retail and distribution of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, Mr. Paul Le – Vice Chairman of Central Retail Group of Thailand – said that the good thing about Vietnamese fruits and vegetables is that farmers are very active in growing delicious products and safe .
However, they have to build a “story” for each product of the country, how to cultivate and love their products to win the trust of the consumers.
He said, Vietnam has a cultural tradition with more than 4,000 years of history, the land and climate are advantages for farmers to make the most delicious agricultural products in the world.
For example, lychee from Vietnam, he finds this the most delicious fruit compared to similar products from other countries. Dragon fruit, mango, pomelo, durian will have many opportunities and can compete with the world’s products.
Source: CafeF
