| 1. |
In Japan, the term “pasta” is generally used to refer to Italian-style noodles like spaghetti or macaroni; however, the original meaning of the term in Italian is dough of flour and water and molded into a variety of shapes (including confectionary).
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| 2. |
Dried pasta was first developed sometime after 1000 A.D. for use as provisions for caravans as they crossed the vast deserts on their way to and from the ancient Orient and the Mediterranean Sea. Around the 12th century, the Arabs, the then rulers of the Mediterranean Sea, introduced dried pasta to Sicily, from which it spread throughout southern Italy. Automated production following the Industrial Revolution, various subsequent technological breakthroughs, and its diffusion to U.S.A. by emigrants turned pasta into an international food. A typical moisture content ranging between 11% and 12% provides it a structure that is quite solid, and remains unchanged under ordinary conditions, making it a classic preserved food. Although it can be kept for 5 or even 10 years, the quality “ages” over time, and the texture, as well as the flavor and odor, deteriorates accordingly. Because of this, the “best-consumed-by” period is usually around 3 years, although it can be a bit longer or shorter among varieties.
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| 3. |
People are reputed to have started eating their pasta dressed with sauce, as we do now, when it encountered tomatoes in the 17th century, a “marriage” that triggered the spread from Italy to the rest of world. Records indicate that it reached Japan’s shores through a Japanese chef at a restaurant in Shimbashi, Tokyo, who brought it back with him from Italy in 1895.
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| 4. |
The Japanese are born lovers of noodles, including ramen, udon and soba, and thus have a natural taste for Italian pasta dishes. Demand for pasta is increasing, thanks to a growing desire among consumers for the “authentic” flavor that they enjoyed overseas as tourists, brisk household and restaurant consumption, and the growing “delicatessen (prepared food, bento boxes)” market. Its firm “al dente” texture counting among its greatest appeals, pasta is now one of the foods most commonly consumed.
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| 5. |
Pasta can be classified by manufacturing method, shape and cooking use into: a. long pasta (spaghetti, lasagna, etc.); b. short pasta (macaroni, penne, etc.); and c. other (with fillings, such as ravioli). Italy, the home of pasta, is said to have as many as 300 varieties. The JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards) Law defines it thus: “(macaroni is) made by adding water to semolina or plain flour of durum wheat, or farina or plain flour of strong wheat, kneading it with or without eggs and vegetables, cutting it as it is extruded from a macaroni molding machine under high pressure, and letting it ripen and dry.” By shape and size, tube-shaped pasta with a diameter of 2.5mm or larger is called “macaroni”, pasta that is stick-shaped with a diameter of 1.2mm or larger or tube-shaped one with a diameter of less than 2.5mm is called “spaghetti”, stick-shaped pasta with a diameter of less than 1.2mm is called “vermicelli”, and belt-like pasta is referred to as “noodles”.
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| 6. |
Pasta is integral in Italian and other healthy Mediterranean dishes. With the growing health consciousness of recent years, it has garnered renewed attention as a low-insulin diet food.
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| 7. |
Perfectly matched with olive oil, tomato sauce, milk, cheese, fish or meat, pasta can be made into a variety of dishes.
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| 8. |
The chart below shows pasta demand in the Japan market.
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|
1998 |
2000 |
2002 |
| Domestic Production |
Spaghetti |
129,941 |
121,880 |
121,329 |
| |
Macaroni |
29,362 |
28,338 |
26,514 |
| |
Total |
159,303 |
150,218 |
147,843 |
 |
| Imports |
|
81,139 |
95,099 |
101,415 |
| Exports |
|
1,547 |
376 |
255 |
|
| Domestic Demand |
|
238,895 |
244,941 |
249,003 |
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| Share of Imports |
|
34.0% |
38.8% |
40.7% |
Unit: ton
Source: Food Agency of Japan, Japan Trade Monthly
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| 9. |
Most of the pasta exported from Japan (approx. 90%) goes to Hong Kong. Because of the relative advantages of transportation costs over European and American competitors, exports had been stable until recently, when a downward trend started due to greater competition from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.
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| 10. |
Despite a gradual increase in imports every year, domestic production still accounts for 60% of the market. Although in the past domestic-made pasta was considered inferior in flavor, as Japanese flour mills have begun to use 100% semolina (a granular milled product of durum wheat), they have become capable of mass-producing and mass-marketing pasta that is comparable in quality to its Italian counterparts.
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| 11. |
The table below shows pasta imports.
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1998 |
2000 |
2002 |
| Spaghetti |
9,329 |
8,242 |
9,345 |
| Macaroni |
843 |
682 |
1,229 |
| Egg Pasta |
232 |
180 |
176 |
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| Total |
10,404 |
9,104 |
10,750 |
Unit: million yen
Source: Japan Trade Monthly
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| 12. |
Japan’s key pasta import partners are as follows.
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1998 |
2000 |
2002 |
| |
Volume |
Volume |
Volume |
Value |
Share (in value) |
| Italy |
72,471 |
76,037 |
77,367 |
8,015 |
74.6% |
| United States |
4,199 |
14,915 |
18,405 |
2,168 |
20.2% |
| Indonesia |
3,389 |
2,968 |
2,609 |
175 |
1.6% |
| Others |
1,080 |
1,179 |
3,034 |
392 |
3.6% |
|
| Total |
81,139 |
95,099 |
101,415 |
10,750 |
100.0% |
“Others” includes Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Brazil, etc.
Unit: ton
Value: million yen
Source: Japan Trade Monthly
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| 13. |
Imports from U.S.A. are growing rapidly because two of the key Japanese manufacturers have started full-scale production over there. Japan’s biggest pasta importing partner is Italy. Renowned Italian pasta manufacturers have established their brands here, and to say that the number of importers in Japan equals the number of those brands would not be an exaggeration. Among the market leaders here are Barilla (imported/marketed by Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd.), Buitoni (by Nestle Japan Group) and De Cecco (by Nisshin Foods Inc.). In Italy, most pasta producers’ lines are fully automated start to finish, from kneading the flour to packaging.
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| 14. |
Pasta is imported in beautifully printed polypropylene or polycellophane bags, each containing 300g, 450g, etc. Forty or fifty bags usually go in each case, which is then loaded into a container.
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| 15. |
Past import is subject to the Food Sanitation Law. Importers have to turn in a notice of importation of food, etc., along with the required documentation (if it is processed food, production flow chart, materials recipe, etc.), to the imported food inspection desk at the competent quarantine station of the marine or air port where the cargo passes customs for screening. If a sanitation inspection is deemed necessary, the cargo is subject to inspection in the bonded customs area to determine acceptance or rejection.
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| 16. |
Distributors have to take into account such regulations and procedures as the Food Sanitation Law, JAS Law (Law Concerning Standardization and Proper Labelling of Agriculture and Forestry Products), Measurement Law, Health Promotion Law (former Nutrition Improvement Law), Fair Competition Rules under the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representation. Overseas exporters must stay in close contact with their Japanese importers.
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| 17. |
With regard to distribution channels, both home- and business-use pasta are distributed from manufacturers or importers to retailers, the food-service industry (including Italian restaurants), and food processors via food wholesalers. In 2001, 58.2% of domestically produced pasta was consumed in homes and 41.8% by businesses. Although the sales volume of imported pasta by application is not known, it is believed that the percentage that goes to business use is higher than for domestically produced pasta.
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| 18. |
Prospects for the market include: (a) exports should shrink further due to intensifying competition with Indonesia; (b) imports should show a gradual increase, due to consumers’ preference for authenticity and brisk demand in the food-service industry; (c) private brands (PBs) from supermarkets and other retailers should expand; (d) Italian manufacturers are likely to start exporting hand-made, as opposed to machine-made, pasta; and (e) as the lineup of pasta sauces expands, a rich variety of pasta dishes should become available in the home.
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