Japan s strong currency and its craving for top quality are transforming Canada s IP market
“They like our farmers, they really like our farmers, says Dale Petrie, general manager of Ontario Soybean Growers, as he describes the desire of Japanese soybean buyers to connect with farmers.
They want to talk to the farmers who are growing the food that they are going to eat. They want to go to the farms, they want to meet them and their families. They want to see the equipment that they re using, they want to walk the fields and look at the dirt.
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Importantly, these Japanese buyers want to come in September as the crop is coming off, so they can pluck pods straight from the plants, then taste-test the beans right there in the field.
It s a buyer-meets-producer story that s getting more and more common across Canada, and a business model that is converging on some unlikely models.
In fact, it s becoming more apparent that buying soybeans is like buying wine. Major wine buyers stroll through the vineyard, taste the wine, meet the winemaker, and learn about terroir that elusive term that sums up what makes a wine unique because of the characteristics imparted by soil, climate and topography.
If the idea of refined palates craving Canadian soybeans sounds over the
top, it may not be as much of a stretch
as you might think. For much of the
world s population, soybeans are a premium
food product, and many cultures
consume soy-based foods and beverages
daily.
With over 340,000 tonnes of
Canadian beans going to Japan alone in
the 2007/08 crop year, many Japanese
soyfoods have a distinctly Canadian
taste. More than just taste, many soy-food
packages now brandish a maple
