Fukushima rice Singapore
INTRODUCTION
Rice imported from Fukushima went on sale in Singapore on 22nd August after a lift in restrictions of Japanese food imports. The restrictions were imposed after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, resulting in severe radioactive substance leakage into the environment. This has huge implications on Japan’s agriculture industry as the radioactive leakage contaminated the surrounding farm lands. The lift was announced after a meeting between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Japan’s premier Shinzo Abe in late May, making Singapore the first country that open the door to Japan’s food imports.
CHANNEL & MARKETING MIX
The National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh), a major wholesaler of Japanese agricultural products, exported 300 KG of rice to Singapore. Up-scale Japanese supermarket Meidi-Ya at Liang court is the only retail channel selling all 300 KG of Fukushima rice, priced at S$38.50 per 5 KG. Despite being the sole retailer for Fukushima rice, Meidi-Ya also carries rice from other prefectures of Japan, thus likely to be between a Selective and Exclusive Distributor. While there is no indication of mainstream supermarkets such as NTUC retailing Fukushima rice in the future, the possibility of intensive distribution should not be ruled out. I have also observed that the information of Meidi-Ya being the sole distributor is left out in most of the news coverage. The rice bags were clearly demarcated to be from Fukushima, a booth was set up with banners and employees promoting the safety standards to reassure the consumers. Neither Zen-Noh nor Meidi-Ya carried out media promotion, however the wide news coverages have generated buzz around Singapore. There are plenty other Japanese grocers in Singapore, and the possible access to the wide network of mainstream groceries due to governmental support present opportunities for Zen-Noh to distribute Fukushima rice intensively in Singapore.
CONSUMERS
There
Rice imported from Fukushima went on sale in Singapore on 22nd August after a lift in restrictions of Japanese food imports. The restrictions were imposed after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, resulting in severe radioactive substance leakage into the environment. This has huge implications on Japan’s agriculture industry as the radioactive leakage contaminated the surrounding farm lands. The lift was announced after a meeting between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Japan’s premier Shinzo Abe in late May, making Singapore the first country that open the door to Japan’s food imports.
CHANNEL & MARKETING MIX
The National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh), a major wholesaler of Japanese agricultural products, exported 300 KG of rice to Singapore. Up-scale Japanese supermarket Meidi-Ya at Liang court is the only retail channel selling all 300 KG of Fukushima rice, priced at S$38.50 per 5 KG. Despite being the sole retailer for Fukushima rice, Meidi-Ya also carries rice from other prefectures of Japan, thus likely to be between a Selective and Exclusive Distributor. While there is no indication of mainstream supermarkets such as NTUC retailing Fukushima rice in the future, the possibility of intensive distribution should not be ruled out. I have also observed that the information of Meidi-Ya being the sole distributor is left out in most of the news coverage. The rice bags were clearly demarcated to be from Fukushima, a booth was set up with banners and employees promoting the safety standards to reassure the consumers. Neither Zen-Noh nor Meidi-Ya carried out media promotion, however the wide news coverages have generated buzz around Singapore. There are plenty other Japanese grocers in Singapore, and the possible access to the wide network of mainstream groceries due to governmental support present opportunities for Zen-Noh to distribute Fukushima rice intensively in Singapore.
CONSUMERS
There