Hi everyone! Emma Ockerman from Nikkei Asia’s audience engagement team here.
Australia is stepping up efforts to expand fruit exports to Japan, taking advantage of different harvest times and seeking customers beyond its limited domestic market. The northeastern state of Queensland has begun trial marketing of bananas in greater Tokyo to gauge shoppers’ response. In late November, Queensland bananas appeared in a featured section at a Yaoko supermarket in Yokohama. These “Eco Bananas” are grown without fertilizers or chemicals with special attention to the quality of soil and nearby waterways. Their tips are colored with wax to show that they meet a certain standard.
Japan buys just 7% or so of Australian fruit exports, and bananas from the Philippines dominate.
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Hi everyone! Emma Ockerman from Nikkei Asia’s audience engagement team here.
Australia is stepping up efforts to expand fruit exports to Japan, taking advantage of different harvest times and seeking customers beyond its limited domestic market.
The northeastern state of Queensland has begun trial marketing of bananas in greater Tokyo to gauge shoppers’ response. In late November, Queensland bananas appeared in a featured section at a Yaoko supermarket in Yokohama. These “Eco Bananas” are grown without fertilizers or chemicals with special attention to the quality of soil and nearby waterways. Their tips are colored with wax to show that they meet a certain standard.
Japan buys just 7% or so of Australian fruit exports, and bananas from the Philippines dominate.
You can read the full story [here,](https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Food-Beverage/Australia-wants-Japanese-shoppers-to-go-bananas-for-its-fruits) if you’d like.
As someone that works in news, Every time I see a headline like this a little part of me dies inside