Japan to phase out duties on many ag products
The trade deal looks likely to slice the price of oranges. Imports make up about 10% of domestic orange consumption, with TPP participants Australia and the U.S. accounting for 90% of that. The announced agreement will remove the orange tariff levied between April and November six years after the pact takes effect. A safeguard will be applied from December through March, when the most domestic oranges go on the shelves, to protect against a potential surge of imports. But that measure will be eliminated in the eighth year.
Tokyo supermarkets sell Australian navel oranges for around 60 yen (50 cents) each. Assuming import costs account for about half the retail price, removing the tariff could cut the price by 4 yen to 7 yen. That would sharply narrow the gap with medium-sized Japanese mandarin oranges, which sell for about 50 yen each.
For processed tomato products, the duty on ketchup and sauce will be removed in six to 11 years. A 460-gram bottle of imported ketchup now priced around 230 yen likely would cost around 20 yen less without the tariff.
Supermarkets and other buyers of imported foods have high hopes for the tariff cuts.
"The issue going forward will be how to make use of the (tariff) regime, such as looking for different supply sources," a major restaurant operator said.
Source: asia.nikkei.com