TOKYO: To the average Japanese person, German cuisine revolves almost exclusively around bread, sausages and beer. The common refrain is that it is a “heavy” diet that does not always sit well with the Japanese palate.
Dozens of German companies that recently took part in Japan’s largest food and drinks trade show, however, are convinced that they can win over sufficient consumers here to make it an important export market for their products. But they admit that there are some uniquely Japanese hurdles that they need to overcome if their products are to be a success here.
“This is the second year that I have been at Foodex Japan and it is an important part of our three-year plan to get a firm foothold here,” said Sascha Magsamen, founder of the Weingut Meine Freiheit vineyard in the Rheingau, a wine-growing region in Germany.
The 2017 figures are not yet available, but Ursula Holzhauser, counsellor for the food and agriculture sector at the German embassy in Tokyo, says the trend for 2017 was “positive.” Exports to Japan in the first six months of the financial year rose, she said, “and there is no reason for them to decline in the second half.”
Official statistics show that meat products accounted for the largest proportion of exports, at €85 million, with dairy products totaling €22 million.
