- On campsites, on picnics, on board an aircraft while traveling, at fast food shops, and at home parties - we frequently use paper tableware. For outdoor-minded persons, in particular, paper tableware is highly convenient.
- Paper tableware was born in the U.S.A. and has been used extensively there because it is disposable and doesn't need washing. Imported to Japan, it is one of the typical items of American "disposable culture." Though many have started to question the wisdom of using "disposable" tableware that produces garbage for reasons of preservation of the environment and resources, both domestic production and imports have been on the increase.
- The increase can be attributed to several factors: an increasing number of people spend their leisure time outdoors; more openings of fast food shops; and an increasing number of people drinking coffee, etc. served by vending machines in paper cups.
- Domestic production in 1997 was approx. \14 billion. Exports were \156,786,000, and imports, \1,397,624,000. Exports account for approx. 1.1% of domestic production, and imports, approx. 10%.
- By destination: exports in 1997 (unit: \1,000)
| Singapore |
99,116 |
(63.2%) |
| Taiwan |
12,522 |
(8.0%) |
| China |
9,148 |
(5.8%) |
Hong Kong
|
8,051 |
(5.1%) |
| Malaysia |
5,710 |
(3.6%) |
| U.S.A. |
5,451 |
(3.5%) |
| Korea |
4,317 |
(2.8%) |
| Others |
12,471 |
(8.0%) |
- By country: imports in 1997 (unit: \1,000)
| U.S.A. |
692,633 |
(49.6%) |
| Korea |
422,081
|
(30.2%) |
Hong Kong
|
185,159 |
(13.3%) |
| Italy |
28,574 |
(2.0%) |
| China |
14,932 |
(1.1%) |
| U.K. |
14,456 |
(1.0%) |
| Others |
39,789 |
(2.8%) |
- Both the volume and value of imports have been on a steady increase since 1993, marking a record high in 1997, with 3,038 tons in volume (up 26.8% than previous year) and \1,395 million (up 34.1% than previous year) in value. In the five years after 1993, volume increased by 3.6 times and the amount 3.3 times. Due to greater availability of low-cost imports, prices of domestic production have declined sharply.
- The following are by-country import values for 1993 and 1997.
|
1993 |
1997 |
| U.S.A. |
27.7% (\118 million)
|
49.6% (\693 million)
|
| Korea |
9.5% (\40 million) |
30.2% (\422 million) |
Hong Kong
|
45.2% (\193 million) |
13.3% (\185 million) |
| Italy |
13.2% (\57 million) |
2.0% (\29 million) |
As shown above, the U.S.A. and Korea added to their shares, while Hong Kong and Italy suffered a setback. In 1993, Hong Kong was the No. 1 exporter, since they had superior technology and price competitiveness. However, the U.S.A. successfully took their share as an increasing number of fast food franchise shops opened, joined by Korea, for their good balance of quality and prices. In 1997, the U.S.A. seized the No. 1 place.
- It seems that McDonald's in Japan use tableware imported from the U.S.A. and Korea as well as that manufactured in Japan.
- Most of the paper dishes used in Japan are manufactured domestically. This is because the volume used is only one tenth of that of paper cups.
- By category, those for vending machines, fast food shops and other business are used in far greater volume than those for home parties, camping, picnics and other home use. The ratio is estimated to be 2:8.
- Since paper tableware production is not labor intensive and anyone can manufacture it as long as they have the required machines, no Japanese manufacturer has bothered to go overseas. To curb transport costs, it needs to be imported in bulk by container. Some Japanese manufacturers use a Korean-made machine which costs about \10 million.
- As for sales channels, in most cases, wholesalers purchase from Japanese manufacturers to sell to retailers or consumers. More recently, however, some supermarkets have been directly purchasing cheap imports for retailing at their own outlets.
- Many of the earlier imports were of solid color, but more recent ones often feature multicolored designs.
- In comparison to plastic and aluminum tableware, paper tableware does not run the risk of producing dioxins when disposed of. From the environmental protection standpoint, paper tableware is better than other versions, but is not the best since it does produce waste.
- In recent years, environmentally friendly tableware has been developed, such as recycled tableware made of apple fibers, which were used in the athletes' dormitories at the Nagano Olympic Games; and biodegradable tableware made from chaff that self-destructs six hours after being filled with liquid. But they are still costly, and there is a need to further reduce costs.
- As for forecasts, although several problems remain to be solved, such as the problem of garbage, an increasing number of Japanese use paper tableware for many occasions. Since imports are competitive enough price- and quality-wise with respect to domestic tableware, imports of paper dishes and paper cups are expected to grow, unless the yen falls to a very low level.
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