With the Japanese cheese market facing an imminent threat from imports due to multilateral free trade pacts, a mom-and-pop factory in Hokkaido is striving to offer quality products that can compete with Europe’s best. Ryota Kikuchi, who opened his cheese factory Chikap with his wife in late
With the Japanese cheese market facing an imminent threat from imports due to multilateral free trade pacts, a mom-and-pop factory in Hokkaido is striving to offer quality products that can compete with Europe’s best.
Ryota Kikuchi, who opened his cheese factory Chikap with his wife in late 2013, is looking to bump sales with a new 12-square-meter cheese-maturing chamber, the August addition increasing production capacity by 20 percent.
“We want to compete with European products, which are high in quality and low in price,” Kikuchi, 37, said, even as the task promises to become more challenging with an 11-member Pacific trade pact taking effect in December and a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union expected to enter into force early next year.
Under the economic partnership agreement with the European Union, Japan will eliminate duties on around 94 percent of all imports from the 28-nation economic bloc by 2035, enabling Japanese consumers to enjoy cheaper European cheese, pork and wine.
The agreement formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a now revised version of the 12-member pact from which the United States withdrew, will also enable people in Japan to buy cheaper farm products imported from foreign competitors, which is likely to hit domestic farmers.
Kikuchi expects to face a big test as it is a huge undertaking for a small cheese factory to take on increased price competition. “The challenge is whether I can raise the level of taste. It’s difficult, but I will continue trying and learning by trial and error,” he said.
Despite the challenging situation, Kikuchi hopes that Japanese consumers’ taste for cheese will grow, long-term.
