#Japan #Japan is making every effort to prevent fruit varieties from flowing overseas
Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported on September 2 that grapes, strawberries, cherries... Branded agricultural products developed in Japan are being taken overseas for cultivation without authorization.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries believes that the flow of high-grade grapes into China alone causes losses of more than 10 billion yen (about 500 million yuan) per year. The regions where the new varieties originate have taken comprehensive measures to prevent outflows, and the government has stepped up its response.
The Nagano Prefectural Fruit Tree Test Site has spent about 10 years since 2008 to develop a new red grape "Queen Rouge", which is a hybrid of the dark purple elongated "unicorn" and the yellow-green "sunshine rose".
Characterized by high sugar content, like the "Sunshine Rose", the fruit is large and seedless, and can be eaten with skins is the biggest selling point. The variety registration will be carried out in 2019 and the first shipment will be made in 2021.
Hidekazu Ogawa, director of the Intellectual Property Management Department of the Nagano Prefectural Agricultural TestIng Ground, said, "Many local governments and private enterprises strive to develop varieties based on the mother of 'sunshine roses', hoping to cultivate the main varieties of 'seedless and skinned' among red grapes."
Because of this expectation, the sense of vigilance against the outflow of varieties is very strong. Ogawa stressed that "we must not repeat the mistakes of the 'Sunshine Rose'".
"Sunshine Rose" was registered in 2006 by the R&D party "Agricultural and Food Industry Technology Comprehensive Research Institute". After the amendment of the Seedling Law in April last year, restrictions could be imposed on bringing new varieties of agricultural products overseas.
However, around 2016, the "Sunshine Rose" was carried out of the country without authorization, and the cultivation in China expanded rapidly. It is said that the planting area is about 30 times that of Japan.
It is estimated that if Chinese producers acquire seedlings through formal channels, Japan can charge more than 10 billion yen a year in royalties based on the intellectual property rights granted to developers of new varieties under the Seedling Law, but they are lost.
Local farmers are also quite satisfied with the "Queen Rouge". Yasuo Ota (74) of Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, said: "There are almost no varieties of red grapes that are 'seedless and skinned'. It was first shipped last year, and consumers responded well, saying 'it's delicious'. His wife, Keizuko (68), also said: "I was surprised that the price was higher than the 'Sunshine Rose'. ”
Due to the praise, there are also farmers in the vicinity who have started planting this year. His nephew Kenji (40 years old) also joined Ota's farm and continued to prepare for full shipments from late September onwards.
Although the planting went well, Ota et al. were also worried about the outflow of "Queen Rouge" because "grapes are easy to grow through grafting" (Anxiong).
Nagano Prefecture stipulates that the planting of "Queen Rouge" must sign a contract with the prefectural government in advance, prohibiting the transfer of seedlings outside the prefecture, and the transfer of seedlings and pruned branches to a third party, and the application to the prefectural government for breeding in the home through grafting.
While strictly promoting branding in China, the county has also applied for variety registration in many countries overseas. Procedures to stop unauthorized planting are under way.
The central government is also considering the establishment of a "breeders' rights management agency" in which experts replace varieties and developers for ip rights management and protection.
