In fact, the intake of the fruit of Japanese seems to be less than that of other countries. The United States is twice as Japan, and Italy and France are also higher than Japan. Why do Japanese eat less? Maybe because the fruit price is high in Japan.
Then why are Japanese fruits so expensive?
1. The appearance of fruits matters.
The high price of Japan’s fruits is because of the emphasis on the appearance. Most fruits sold in department stores or famous supermarkets are very well-formed. Because of this, the price is higher than in discount supermarkets. Apples and other fruits with poor appearance or damage are basically sold at discount supermarkets, sometimes are used to make juice.
2. Different cultivation methods.
Japan’s fruit is cultivated with time and dedication. Unlike some other countries which pesticides are used to grow fruits casually, Japan’s fruits are cultivated by using methods such as pesticide-free, organic cultivation, which is costly. Strawberries and other fruits are also grown in greenhouses, so prices skyrockets. People also take time and labor to improve varieties of fruits such as strawberries, grapes, etc. Recently, advanced fruits have become branded. TV program has introduced that one single piece of brand strawberry is sold for thousands of yen. It’s like a gem.
3. Protection agricultural system for farmers’ interests.
The fundamental reason for the high price of Japanese fruits is to maintain the income of farmers. Japan has been maintaining a special tariff system for agricultural products. The tariff is not a fixed percentage of taxes but instead refers to the shipping prices of Japanese domestic farmers. This is mainly due to the fact that the population of Japanese agricultural families accounts for about 7% of the total population which is slightly higher than other developed countries. Due to its highly united organization, national and local agricultural associations have unified voices and they have geographical advantages in the election, no political party can dare ignore the farmers. The LDP (自民党, じみんとう) has also maintained a good relationship of mutual assistance with the Agricultural Association in the past decades. The average annual income of Japanese farmers exceeds 7 million yen, which is roughly equivalent to that of local civil servants. However, Japan does not have a large area of land, so in order to increase the income of farmers, the prices of agricultural products such as fruits will be expensive