An Additional USD150m per Year in U.S. Potato Exports to Japan

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) recently completed an agricultural trade mission to Japan.

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt, IPC Chairman Bryan Wada, IPC Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs Sam Eaton, and ISDA trade specialist Chelsea Conlon were among the 5-8 June Idaho delegation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture arranged the trade mission, which was headed by USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor. Eleven state departments of agriculture, numerous agricultural organizations, and 40 agribusinesses made up the U.S. delegation.

“I am very encouraged by the discussions we had in Japan, and especially pleased to have been able to leverage the scale and depth of this mission to advocate for Idaho’s producers. Japan has long been one of Idaho’s strongest trading partners. Throughout our trip, we heard a common message: Japan is a mature market, but it is full of opportunity,” Tewalt declared.

The Idaho delegation's main objective while in Japan was to support the sale of fresh potatoes from the United States. Japan is the fourth-largest market for American food and agricultural exports and one of Idaho's best and most dependable trading partners. According to the National Potato Council, access to the Japanese market may increase U.S. fresh potato exports by an additional USD150m annually.

“We had a very productive trip, and I believe our collective efforts are moving the needle closer to market access for U.S. table-stock potatoes in Japan. With our high-quality product and international brand recognition, I believe Idaho potatoes are positioned to do particularly well in the Japanese market,” Wada mentioned.

A meeting with Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to discuss the progress of market access discussions for American goods was held by Under Secretary Taylor, Director Tewalt, and state representatives.

“It is important that we continue to apply pressure on the Japanese government. Thankfully, Director Tewalt was able to advocate for fresh potato access in her meeting with Japanese government officials. We also have broad support from our partners at the National Potato Council and Potatoes USA as well as the entire Idaho Congressional Delegation. We are fresh off our recent success in Mexico and the potato industry needs to carry that momentum into our efforts with Japan,” Eaton said.

The Idaho group met with representatives of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service while they were in Japan to further review the progress of the market access discussions. The group attended retail site visits, spoke with large import coordinators, and got in-depth market briefings from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. The Idaho group also helped to arrange meetings with major Japanese potato processors like Simplot, McCain Foods, and Lamb Weston.