Tokyo, Nov. 30 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government adopted a strategy on Monday to boost exports of food products, as well as agricultural and fishery goods, in order to meet its goal of expanding such exports to 5 trillion yen in 2030.

Under the strategy, 27 items including beef, scallops, apples and yellowtail are designated for intensive production support.

“We’ll conduct reform to shift from the stance of exporting redundant products to the standpoint that everyone engaged in production, processing, distribution and sales should commit to what the markets demand,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a meeting of related ministers on the day.

The strategy includes item-by-item export targets for 2025, with the target on beef exports set at 160 billion yen, up about 5.4-fold from 2019. Demand for Japanese beef is expected from China, with which Japan is negotiating to start shipments.

To achieve the 2025 targets, the government plans to select some areas producing the designated food items for technical, financial and other support.

The selected areas are expected to include 15 beef-producing areas, including in the Kyushu southwestern region and the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, and a total of three scallop-producing districts in Hokkaido and the northeastern prefecture of Aomori.

The government aims to develop systems to supply in high volume and at low cost products that meet importing countries’ demands and safety standards.

It also plans to submit a bill as early as during the next ordinary parliamentary session to make it easier for farmers working on exports to receive investment.

In 2019, Japan’s agricultural, fishery and food exports came to 912.1 billion yen, rewriting the record high for the seventh consecutive year but falling short of one trillion yen.

Through intensive support for exports of the designated items, the government aims to increase such exports to 2 trillion yen in 2025 and 5 trillion yen in 2030.