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▼ Japan Seen Boosting Support to Dairy Farms After EPA Deal
- Category:Event
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan is seen boosting subsidies and other assistance to dairy farmers after the country reached a broad accord on its envisioned economic partnership agreement with the European Union, informed sources have said.
The two sides struck the deal at bilateral ministerial talks in Brussels that ended on Wednesday, by resolving thorny issues including Japanese tariffs on cheese imports. The result will be announced after a bilateral summit on Thursday.
To ease the impact of expected cheese import growth, the government and the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling bloc will consider increasing subsidies to dairy farmers to help stabilize their incomes, the sources said.
“We definitely need [support] measures for the domestic industry,” Toru Nakaya, named the next president of Japan’s Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, or JA-Zenchu, told a news conference Wednesday.
To work out domestic measures in response to the EPA deal, the government will remake its task force at the Cabinet Secretariat that discusses steps to reduce the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement for free trade.
European cheese occupies 23 percent of the Japanese market, far higher than the share of 15 percent held by domestic producers.
An increase in cheese imports from Europe is seen pushing down domestic fresh milk prices.
At present, about 17,000 families run dairy farms in Japan. The number has fallen by around 4 percent annually mainly due to an aging of dairy farmers and a lack of successors.
“An influx of low-priced European cheese would lead to an increase in dairy farmers who consider ending their business,” said an executive of the JA group.
Livestock farmers are braced for a possible fall in pork prices that would follow a planned tariff cut for European pork.
As a measure to reduce the negative impact of the TPP, Japan has established a system to cover up to 90 percent of the losses livestock farmers incur.
The system is slated to enter into operation after the TPP is enforced. Now, the government will consider starting the system earlier.
The government is also expected to discuss measures to improve the competitiveness of the domestic forestry industry as imports of northern European timber are seen growing.
The two sides struck the deal at bilateral ministerial talks in Brussels that ended on Wednesday, by resolving thorny issues including Japanese tariffs on cheese imports. The result will be announced after a bilateral summit on Thursday.
To ease the impact of expected cheese import growth, the government and the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling bloc will consider increasing subsidies to dairy farmers to help stabilize their incomes, the sources said.
“We definitely need [support] measures for the domestic industry,” Toru Nakaya, named the next president of Japan’s Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, or JA-Zenchu, told a news conference Wednesday.
To work out domestic measures in response to the EPA deal, the government will remake its task force at the Cabinet Secretariat that discusses steps to reduce the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement for free trade.
European cheese occupies 23 percent of the Japanese market, far higher than the share of 15 percent held by domestic producers.
An increase in cheese imports from Europe is seen pushing down domestic fresh milk prices.
At present, about 17,000 families run dairy farms in Japan. The number has fallen by around 4 percent annually mainly due to an aging of dairy farmers and a lack of successors.
“An influx of low-priced European cheese would lead to an increase in dairy farmers who consider ending their business,” said an executive of the JA group.
Livestock farmers are braced for a possible fall in pork prices that would follow a planned tariff cut for European pork.
As a measure to reduce the negative impact of the TPP, Japan has established a system to cover up to 90 percent of the losses livestock farmers incur.
The system is slated to enter into operation after the TPP is enforced. Now, the government will consider starting the system earlier.
The government is also expected to discuss measures to improve the competitiveness of the domestic forestry industry as imports of northern European timber are seen growing.
- July 10, 2017
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