III Sweetpotato Supply and Demand

1. Demand trends

Annual sweetpotato consumption in Japan amounts to approximately 1.1 million tons. There are four main markets for sweetpotatoes: fresh produce (42% of output), starch-related products (24%), processed foods (9%), and liquor/alcohol products (7%), with 4% also going for animal feed. (Data from 1997.) Some trends from recent years are discussed below.

(1) Fresh produce and processed foods

• Sweetpotato demand is rising, supported by greater health and nature consciousness among consumers, the appearance of tasty varieties such as "Beniazuma," and the spread of new varieties suitable for processing. Demand in the fresh produce and processed foods markets has risen to about 560,000 tons (including 460,000 tons as fresh produce and 100,000 tons for processed foods).
  
• For processed foods, Hoshiimo (dried slices of steamed sweetpotatoes) and confectioneries remain the major sources of demand, at 30 to 40,000 tons each. Demand in this market has been flat in recent years, though the traditional Karinto (fried sweetpotato sticks) and Imoyokan (sweetpotato paste) are increasingly popular as well as ice creams and cakes.

(2) Starch-related products

• Most sweetpotato starch is used as a material for manufacturing isomerized saccharides from starch extracted from imported corn. Annual usage has decreased slightly in recent years, to about 260,000 tons.
  
• Sweetpotato starch is also used for making "Harusame" (clear noodles).

(3) Alcohol and other uses

• Demand from the shochu (distilled sweetpotato spirits) market , the major alcohol-related market for sweetpotatoes, has been relatively flat in recent years, at about 77,000 tons annually.
  
• Sweetpotatoes are used as feed primarily for pigs. Due to competition from inexpensive imported feed, usage has slipped to about 44,000 tons annually.　

2. Production trends

In terms of production, sweetpotatoes rank eighth by weight among agricultural products in Japan. Cultivation is extensive in the southern part of Japan, where sweetpotatoes play an important role in soil management, especially in the dry fields of southern Kyushu where the environment (typhoons, droughts) and unique soil (e.g., Shirasu) pose particular challenges. Nationwide efforts are now underway to identify new areas suitable for the cultivation of high-quality sweetpotatoes for the fresh produce market.

(1) Main producing areas

• The southern Kyushu area (including Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures) accounts for 36% of all planted area and 39% of production. Kagoshima is Japan's leading producer, with 339,000 tons in 1999 (harvest index 91), more than 50% of which was destined for starch-related products.
  
• The next-leading prefectures are Ibaraki (191,000 tons), Chiba (156,000 tons), and Miyazaki (50,000 tons). Shizuoka, Tokushima, Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures produce 20-30,000 tons each.

(2) Gross agricultural production

• The total agricultural production of sweetpotatoes in fiscal 1998 in Japan was approximately 105.3 billion yen.
  
• Sweetpotatoes accounted for 1.1% of total agricultural production in Japan, making them the nation's 22th-ranked crop.

(3) Planted area and production

• Sweetpotato plantings remained stable from 1975-85, at about 65,000 ha, but have decreased slightly since 1987. While yields reached about 2,300 kg/10 a during the 1985-94 period, they have recently stagnated due to the wider range of varieties grown for the fresh produce and processed food markets.
  
• In fiscal 1999, plantings were 45,000 ha, with production of 1.01 million tons (harvest index 97).

3. Import trends

In addition to the long-imported Chinese "Hoshiimo," imports of frozen processed foods such as Daigakuimo (fried sweetpotato coated with sugar syrup and sesame) and Mushiimo (steamed sweetpotatoes) and paste have increased since 1985-95. Contributing factors include the stronger yen, shortages of raw materials during poor harvests, and low supply capacity due to aging in the farm sector. Against this backdrop, imports of sweetpotato products have reached a reported 20,000 tons annually.

○ Sweetpotato supply and demand in Japan (fiscal year 1998)

(in 1,000 tons)

Domestic production	Trade		Domestic demand								Net food (kg/person-year)
	Import	Export	Total	Feed	Seed	Starch-related products	For alcohol	Loss	Food	Processing	Total	Processing
1139	5	0	1144	48	36	307	73	34	646	111	4.6	0.8
-	-	-	100	4.2	3.1	26.8	6.4	3.0	56.5	9.7	-	-

Source

Food Balance Sheet, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The figures for processing are given by the Upland Crop Division based on reports from prefectures.

○ Gross agricultural production of major agricultural products and sweetpotatoes

(1) Gross production value (Units: billion yen, %) Rank Item Gross production Percentage 1 Rice 　2,455.9 　24.9 2 Raw milk 　701.9 　7.1 13 Potato 　139.7 　1.4 22 Sweetpotato 　105.3 　1.1

(2) Number of farms involved in corresponding commodities (Unit: 1,000 households) Crop Number of households (1990) (1995) Rice 　2,580 　2,300 Vegetables 　2,300 　1,970 Potato/Sweetpotato 　1,120 　1,260 Total of farm households 　3,500 　2,570

(3) Yield (Unit: 1,000 tons) Item Yield Rice 　8,960 Potato 　3,070 Japanese radish 　1,900 Cabbage 　1,400 Sweetpotato 　1,140

Source

"Statistics on Agricultural Production and Income", Statistics and Information Dept., the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and "The World Agriculture and Fisheries Census", also from the MAFF. Note: 1) Figures for gross production and harvest are taken from 1998 data.