【Event Report】 FY2024 "Mission for Nikkei Partnership Promotion in Latin America": 11 Japanese fisheries and food companies report on their business collaboration mission in Brazil and Mexico.

2024.09.06

Reputational damage and rumors about Japanese seafood has seriously affected exports of Japanese products.

In order to strengthen economic ties between Japan and nikkei (Japanese descendants) communities and to promote the spread of safe and secure Japanese food products, JICA dispatched a team of representatives from 11 Japanese fishery and food companies to Brazil and Mexico in July as a part of the mission for nikkei partnership promotion in Latin America.

Latin America is a promising destination for Japanese companies, with a huge consumer market and a large middle-income class.
More than 3 million people of nikkei live in the region, many of whom have established businesses there and are leading the economies of their countries.

JICA dispatched this mission in order to contribute not only the economic development of Latin America but also to the economic and regional revitalization of Japan through the business development of Japanese fisheries and food enterprises by building bridges between Japan and local nikkei communities.

The mission team was dispatched from July 8th (Mon) to July 21st (Sun) 2024, and conducted market research in Brazil and Mexico, met with local companies, and made booth exhibitions at the Sao Paulo Japan Festival in Brazil, one of the world's largest festivals (which attracted 180,000 visitors over three days).

They gathered information and conducted business meetings with a view to exporting their own products in the region.

Meetings with local companies (Brazil)

Sao Paulo Japan Festival “Expo Japan” (Brazil)

Meetings with local companies (Mexico)

Local seafood market (Mexico)

On August 23rd (Fri), the 11 mission companies conducted a reporting session at JICA Takebashi. From JICA, in addition to presentations by the Latin America and the Caribbean Department, and the Private Sector Partnership and Finance Department, the former Chief Representatives of JICA Brazil and Mexico Offices joined as commentators, with approximately 60 participants in total (online and face-to-face).

The mission companies reported on the attractiveness of the Brazilian and Mexican markets, expectations of local Japanese companies in the region, and the business potential they felt during their stay.
Some companies reported that they have been already moving forward in the connections with local companies and collaborators for the future.

JICA believes that the following four points have been realized through this mission.

There is a high level of trust in Japanese products
The prices of Japanese products are high, but the demand exceeds those prices
The presence of the nikkei community is large (as can be seen from the fact that Sao Paulo holds the world's largest Japan Festival, Japanese food and culture are becoming more and more popular)
The number of Japanese restaurants is increasing. In Brazil in particular, Japanese restaurants and products are becoming more localized to suit local tastes

As future developments, some of the participating companies are planning to conduct research on local sales prices and tariffs, implement product proposals to expand sales channels, export products, etc.

In addition, some companies are considering interacting and exchanging information with local nikkei associations and supporting with their activities, leaving great expectations in the future regarding collaboration with the local nikkei community.

Presentation from the companies

Comments from former JICA Brazil and Mexico Office Directors

Report session