The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 15th that the outflow of fruit varieties developed by Japan, including Shine Muscat, a high-end grape variety, is getting serious. The newspaper said that in Korea, shine muscats have emerged as a major export item, which is five times the size of Japan’s exports and more than 40 times the size of China’s shine muscats.According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the gap has widened since the size of grape exports to Korea and Japan was reversed for the first time in 2019. In January-April this year, Korea’s grape exports amounted to about 800 million yen (8.5 billion won), up 1.5 times from the same period last year. Among them, Shine Muscat accounts for 90%. Japan’s exports amounted to 147 million yen, accounting for only one-fifth of Korea’s exports.
Now, Korean shine muscats are exported to 19 countries including China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the U.S. and New Zealand. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reportedly confirmed Shine Muscat’s outflow from overseas in 2016.Your grapes are awesome, aren’t they?