A number of seeds and saplings of Japanese high-end fruit varieties have been taken out of the country without permission and grown abroad against a backdrop of their global popularity.
Now Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has announced it will launch a full-fledged effort to prevent ‘outflows’ of domestically developed high-end fruit varieties to other countries.
The ministry will consider stricter regulations and a possible law revision, as such outflows of fruit varieties to foreign countries can hinder growth in exports of agricultural and food products. Japan is trying to boost the exports, with the total annual shipments of such items nearly reaching one trillion yen.
Shine Muscat, a Japanese-developed high-end grape variety, is grown in China and South Korea without permission, for sale in Malaysia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, according to the ministry.
Source: nippon.com
