Belgian Truval Conference pear makes introduction in Japan

After several months of preparation, Truval pears were successfully introduced at the Osaka World Expo on 14 September during the Belgian Pavilion’s National Day.

In the presence of Belgian federal ministers David Clarinval (agriculture and economy) and Vanessa Matz (public action and modernisation), Belgian Fruit Valley, represented by business development manager Asia Thomas Simillion, had the opportunity to showcase the much appreciated Belgian Truval Conference pear. 

“The pears were sourced from specially selected orchards of BelOrta growers in order to be in line with Japan’s quarantine requirements,” said Marc Evrard, commercial director at Belgian Fruit Valley. “The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan facilitated the presentation via special procedure. The federal representation at the Belgian embassy in Tokyo offered its fullest support in making this happen.

“The expertise and commitment of our partners at Dole Japan and Itochu Corp have been of the utmost importance. Without their guidance and assistance on all levels and throughout the entire process this would not have been possible.”

Reactions to the Truval Conference were “extremely positive”, according to Evrard. “This definitely confirmed our belief in the potential of the Belgian Conference pear for the Japanese market as a healthy and tasty addition to the consumer’s diet,” he said.

The presentation at the Osaka World Expo will be followed this week by high level meetings between representatives of both Belgian and Japanese governments.

Eyeing market access

While Belgian pears do not yet have access to the Japanese market, Evrard said the successful presentation was a “symbolic” move that stands the industry in good stead to progress negotiations.

The Belgian pear industry has been working to secure access to Japan for over a decade.

“The process requires a lot of patience and commitment, and we’re dedicated to following all procedures,” said Evrard.

“We’ve been making some progress over the past year. We were given this opportunity to present our product, which is a sign of light at the end of the tunnel. We’re confident the upcoming meetings between the two governments will lead to further progress.” 

Evrard said the support of BFV’s local partners also demonstrated the eagerness of the Japanese market to import Belgian Conference pears “as a worthwhile addition” to the consumer offering.

“Currently, there is some limited domestic production of Western-style pears in Japan known as La France pears,” he said. “These locally grown pears are available until November and could be complemented with imports from Belgium from mid-October to late June.”