Production Relay & Development

Production Relay for Stable Supply

Professional decision making on when to switch to next production area

As Japan has four dinstict seasons,the production areas move within the country. In summer, the main production areas are in the north such as Hokkaido, Tohoku or Shinshu. In winter, it's in the southern regions such as Kyushu and Shikoku. In spring and autumn, it's in the middle regions such as Kanto or Kinki. Watari does optimum relaying of production areas for each item to ensure the stable year-round supply of high quality fresh produce.

Depending on the item, we handle both domestic and imported products to ensure ample supply. However, as it gets affected by weather conditions on a daily basis, it is very difficult to decide on when to switch the production areas in Japan or overseas. And such decision-making requires expertise of fresh produce.

  • Relaying production areas in Japan

Aiming for Stable Supply with Global Network

For consumers who want to enjoy good products year-round

Asparagus is a very popular vegetable in Japan today. It is originally a spring crop and it never used to be available in summer to winter time. But now it's available year-round with imported products. In 1980's, Watari started importing asparagus from California and now import also from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Peru. By incorporating such imported products, we could achieve the year-round supply of good asparagus for Japanese consumers.

After asparagus, Watari developed other imported items to supplement the domestic supply in Japan. Today,we import so many items from various countries, with which we can achieve the stable supply of good fresh produce year-round along with domestic produce.

  • Relaying production of imported asparagus

  • Watari's dedicated packaging

  • Bundling and repacking at Watari Narita Distribution Center

Overseas Production Development

Seaching for the optimum growing areas for each product globally

  • Okra

    We import fresh Okra from Philippines and Thailand by contract-growing to ensure both quality and safety for Japanese market. We import it daily by air from autumn to spring when the domestic production of Okra in Japan is in the off-season. And our market share of imported Okra in Japan is over 30%.

  • Asparagus

    We work closely with overseas growers of asparagaus to ensure its quality and safety. Also, we have strict quality control for this highly perishable item during transportation, storage and repacking with our own staff. We take pride in this item as one of our main products because of our history of import business.

  • Blueberries

    We import blueberries from USA, Mexico and Chile for the year-round supply and our market share of this item is No.1 in Japan.

Working with Growers for Product Development

Seeking for products that can satisfy consumer expectations

Fresh produce must be "fresh", "tasty" and "safe". With those basic requirements in mind, we must think of what's really wanted by consumers today to make sellable products. We try to work with growers to produce good fruit and vegetables to meet the consumer expectations and build win-win relationship between growers and consumers. For that, our sales and procurement staff often visit the production areas to communicate well with growers.

  • Inspecting potatoes grown in Hokkaido at JA Tokachi Ikeda Town

  • Inspecting garlic grown in Hokkaido at JA Tokachi Shimizu Town

  • Quality assurance by local staff in the Philippines