1% Increase in Local Food Self-Sufficiency Would Bring 19 Billion Yen Annual Gain

The 77 Bank, Ltd., headquartered in Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan, recently announced the results of a study showing that an increase of one percent in the food self-sufficiency rate (the proportion locally-produced food consumed locally) in the Tohoku region would have local economic benefits worth 19.3 billion yen (about U.S.$190 million) per year. The calculation considered local consumption of farm and marine products in the region's six prefectures (Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Yamagata).

The figure includes 12.1 billion yen (about U.S.$120 million) from a direct increase in farm and marine production and 7.2 billion yen (about U.S.$70 million) in ripple effects. The ripple effects consist of increased economic activity of 1.1 billion yen (about U.S.$11 million) in the food processing industry, 700 million yen (about U.S.$6.8 million) in commerce, 500 million yen (about U.S.$4.9 million) in the financial and insurance industries, and 400 million yen (about U.S.$3.9 million) in transportation. Increased food self-sufficiency would also create an estimated 4,032 jobs.

The calculation was based on the assumption that the demand for local farm and marine products would expand if consumption shifted away from products produced outside the region. A shift to local annual consumption of 1,241 yen (about U.S.$ 12) per person would boost the region's food self-sufficiency rate by one percent, the bank said.



Posted: 2005/06/21 10:39:09 AM
Japanese version