In Japan, the market for seedless, high-grade grapes such as Shine Muscat is expanding rapidly. Nagano Prefecture, which ranks first in Japan in terms of grape production, has called the three locally produced varieties the "Three Sisters of Grapes", and has been vigorously promoting it since 2022. It will also expand the scale of cultivation to ensure adequate supply, and strive to consolidate the position of the grape kingdom by establishing brands.
Grape Three Sisters is a registered trademark of JA Jeon Nagano and is used to promote and promote Queen Rouge with purple peel, Nagano Purple with purple-black peel, and sunshine rose with yellow-green peel. These are seedless, high-grade varieties that can be eaten with skins.
Governor Abe promoting the "Three Grape Sisters" (Ota, Tokyo, September 5)
"When I think of grapes, I think of nagano's three grape sisters, and if I can leave such a memory, I would be very grateful." On the morning of September 5, at the auction site at Ota Market (located in Ota-ku, Tokyo), Nagano Prefectural Governor Shoichi Abe appealed to the people involved in the wholesale of vegetables and fruits present. The samples distributed were snatched up in the blink of an eye, which shows the high degree of attention received.
Nagano Purple and Sunshine Roses produced in Nagano Prefecture have been highly rated before, and from 2021 onwards, the new variety Queen Rouge developed by the prefecture has officially begun to be launched. It is said that "no other production area can grow three colored seedless grapes that can be eaten with skins" (the person in charge of the Nagano Prefectural Horticultural Livestock Department). As a result, Nagano Prefecture adopted a strategy of combining three varieties for publicity.
Statistics from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries show that Nagano Prefecture's grape production reached 40.2 billion yen in 2020, surpassing Yamanashi Prefecture, which ranked first in 2019, and the highest among all Prefectures in Japan. Due to the rapid expansion of the cultivation area of sunshine roses that are easy to grow and sell at high prices, the output value of grapes in Nagano Prefecture has rapidly increased to more than twice that of five years ago. In addition to the change from other varieties of grapes to high-grade varieties, there has also been a trend of changing grapes from cherries or apples to grapes.
The "Three Sisters of Grapes" are seedless varieties that can be eaten with skins
Some people refer to the sharp expansion of the cultivated area as the "sunshine rose bubble", fearing that the price market has plummeted, but the sales price has been showing an upward trend. High-grade grape varieties have the characteristics of not being easy to deteriorate in quality in the refrigerated state, and another advantage is that it is easy to find ways to sell at high prices. For example, it is sold in the business war at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, or exported overseas.
Nagano Prefecture has positioned the three grape sisters, which are expected to achieve high yields, as the main varieties, and intends to further promote the transfer of these varieties. As of 2019, giant peaks account for nearly half of Nagano Prefecture's raw grape production, and Sunshine Rose and Nagano purple together account for only 25%. By 2030, Nagano Prefecture plans to increase the proportion of the three grape sisters, including Queen Rouge, to more than 50%.
By ensuring greater production, these varieties will be easily available in large-scale mass stores and can also meet commercial needs such as chain restaurants. Nagano Prefecture does not intend to sell rarity as a selling point, but to make it an easy to buy high-grade grapes around it, and cultivate them as a new main crop to support Nagano Prefecture's agriculture.
On the other hand, other regions are also vigorously exploring the high-quality grape market, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Yamanashi Prefecture has developed a new variety with a red peel, "Kaifei Berry 7", which is expected to be officially launched in 2024. Ishikawa Prefecture is actively promoting the "Ruby Roman" of large grains, and in August the governor of the prefecture, Chi Hao, introduced the variety to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
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