Branded agricultural products developed in Japan, such as grapes, strawberries, and cherries, have been brought overseas for cultivation without authorization. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Japan believes that the outflow of the high-grade grape, Shine Muscat, to China alone has caused losses of more than 10 billion yen (about 71 million US dollars) every year. The production areas of these new varieties of fruits in Japan have taken comprehensive measures to prevent the outflow, and the government has also stepped up.
It took about 10 years from 2008 to develop a new red grape variety, Queen Rouge, which is a hybrid of dark purple elongated unicorn and yellow-green Sunshine Rose. It is characterized by a high sugar content. Like Sunshine Rose, the grape is large and seedless. It can be eaten with the skin, which is its biggest selling point. The variety was registered in 2019 and the first shipment started in 2021.
Losing 300 million yuan of intellectual property fees every year
It is estimated that Japan could get more than 10 billion yen every year if Chinese producers were to obtain seeds and seedlings of the grape through formal channels, based on the intellectual property rights granted to developers of new varieties by the Seeds and Seedlings Law. But this income is being lost.
One local farmer is also quite satisfied with the Queen Rouge. "There are almost no varieties of seedless and peeled red grapes. The first shipment last year was well received by consumers who said the grapes are delicious." His 68-year-old wife Huijinko also said, "I was surprised that the price was higher than for the Sunshine Rose".
Due to the great feedback, there are also farmers nearby who have started planting the grape this year. While the planting went well, growers are also concerned about the outflow of Queen Rouge because "the grapes are easy to grow through grafting".
The Japanese central government is also considering whether to establish a breeder's rights management agency so that experts, other than breed developers, can manage and protect the intellectual property rights of the fruits.
Source: Oriental Daily