28 Aug

Italy’s Valpolicella has no lack of young winemakers ready to continue its exports

Posted by Team Meros in Market Trends

We never know exactly where we will find the agriculture stories that can inspire new ways of looking at food chain challenges and common problems. Food value chains are both intensely local and also deeply entwined with global trends, meaning that insights from one country are very likely relevant to many others. We’ve seen fishery cooperatives in Tanzania struggling with the same data management problems we have seen in Japan’s green tea industry and exporters everywhere carefully watching global exchange rates.

This time the insights came from the green vineyards of Italy. Meros’ Ayako Kuroki recently visited Italy’s vibrant Valpolicella wine-producing region and found some interesting trends, and possibly lessons, for issues we see here in Japan.

Italy’s Valpolicella wines are produced mainly with Corvina, Rondinella and Morinara grapes.

Italy, with a population of 60 million, has half the population of Japan but faces similar demographics, with increasing urbanization and one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. In Japan’s case there is constant discussion about the aging population of farmers, the difficulty in attracting younger people into agriculture and the difficulty of developing value-added, export-oriented agricultural industries. And yet, Valpolicella has developed a wine industry that is 80% exports and boasts of no lack of younger farmers willing to succeed the regions’ numerous wineries.

Italy was the second largest wine exporter (by volume) after Spain in 2016. Veneto province, far in the north of the country, produces the largest volume of wine grapes and is the second largest wine-producing province in the country. Veneto is anchored by its capital Venice and also known for the historic city Verona, home of Romeo and Juliet.  The Valpolicella region, north of Verona, is among the 24 DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wine-producing areas in Veneto; other DOC areas include Bardolino and Soave. The region is famous for its Amarone wine (DOCG), as well as Valpolicella and Valpolicella Ripasso wines (DOC).

While viticulture in the region dates back several thousand years, some of  Valpolicella’s approximately 300, mostly family-owned, wineries are relatively new. This is because many grape farmers who used to sell grapes to wineries have gradually ventured into wine production, seeing that it is a more lucrative business. Wine making or agriculture/food processing in general is an attractive business in the area, with younger people entering the industry. This is partly driven by technological advancements which have made it easier and more attractive for younger people to take up agriculture as a career. As such, families in Valpolicella normally do not face the problem of finding a successor for their wine businesses.

Zanotti, one of the family-run wineries in the region, produces Valpolicella and, Valpolicella Ripasso wines (DOC) and Amarone (DOCG).

About 80% of the wine produced in the region is exported to Europe, Asia, and Latin America and some major brands reach the Japan market as well. However as one winery explained, “We are small wineries who don’t have the capacity for far away markets like Japan; we leave that to the big companies.” The wineries of Valpolicella have the advantage of neighboring the large wine-drinking market of the EU.

Valpolicella was a glimpse of a traditional industry that has been able to build sustainable exports to neighboring markets, integrate new technologies and continue to attract a new generation of winemakers.  It will be interesting to compare this case to traditional growing areas on other developed countries who also aim to build exports and retain young farmers.

23 Jun

Meros shares green tea industry insights on NHK’s Biz Buzz Japan

Posted by Team Meros in News

Meros is back on this season’s Biz Buzz Japan on NHK World. This time Meros’ Global Markets director Lucia Vancura discusses the Japanese green tea industry and export marketing challenges with tea expert and certified tea instructor Oscar Brekell, and host Jon Kabira.

Green tea exports from Japan have doubled over the past decade to over 4000 MT, a bright spot for an industry whose domestic production has been falling.  The domestic Japanese green tea industry faces an aging and shrinking population of tea farmers, as well as Japanese consumers who have endless choices of beverages

Exports of Japanese green tea were driven initially by the growth in sushi and Japanese restaurants overseas over the past decade. The healthy image of green tea with its high anti-oxidants also boosted its popularity. Top tea export markets for Japan are the US, Taiwan and the EU-tea processing hub, Germany. Not only green tea leaves and bottled tea, but matcha (green tea powder) also has  become increasingly popular as a flavoring for desserts, from ice cream to cakes.  Now fruit-flavored green tea beverages and green tea lattes can be seen in cafes and convenience stores across the world.

Green tea and black tea both come from the leaves of the same plant (camellia sinensis), but then undergo different processing.  For Japanese green tea, the leaves are harvested three times a year, then quickly steamed, crushed and dried, retaining the green color and original fragrance.  Many other countries, including China, Vietnam and Taiwan also produce green tea, but through a slightly different process that usually includes panfiring, rather than steaming the leaves. Due to the differences in processing, as well as the different climates and cultivars, tea leaves from different areas have distinctive flavors. Japanese green teas are often described as “grassy” and “mellow”.

Japanese green tea exporters face various challenges in international markets for various reasons, including low consumer familiarity with Japanese green tea, regulatory barriers related to agrochemical registration, as well as the high price and relatively low volumes available for export. In overseas markets, although green tea itself is increasingly common, there is often no reason for a bottled tea manufacturer or a lemon-flavored green tea product to use expensive Japanese green tea as a raw material. These manufacturers need large volumes of affordable green tea leaves. Cheaper tea leaves from China, South America or elsewhere are usually substituted.

The key for Japanese green tea producers, who are typically small family farms, is understanding the needs and interests of overseas consumers. What kind of packaging is attractive – dry leaves, bottles, or ready-to-drink tea bags?  Do people buy tea at cafés or supermarkets? Inspiring people to become interested in the characteristic flavor of Japanese green tea, compared to other green teas, may be the best way to convince consumers to pay the higher prices that Japanese green tea requires.

This NHK BizBuzz episode discusses issues in the green tea industry and highlights some creative ventures in the domestic market to attract younger and new consumers. These include cold-brewed green tea packaged and served like high-end wine and flavored Japanese green tea.

The episode is broadcast on NHK World throughout June and is available online on demand until July 21st.  NHK World is available around the world on cable as well as streaming online.