Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, today said Australian exporters were achieving success in diversifying the range of high-end Australian products being sold in Japan. Speaking after visiting several retail establishments in Tokyo, Mr Vaile said he was pleased with the market success of high-quality Australian food and beverages. "I was particularly pleased to see successful use of the "Aussie Gold" branding of Australian long grainfed beef at the Isetan Department Store and at Daiei's Homonya supermarket, Tokyo's largest," Mr Vaile said. "This branding is achieving a significant price premium and has been compared by Japanese experts to Japanese Wagyu beef in tenderness and juiciness." "I also visited a new retail complex whose stores are designed to attract women between the ages of 20 and 30. The South Australian firm "Jurlique International" has established a day spa and cosmetics shop in this complex and is using with great success the image of "clean, natural and pure Australia". The Japanese cosmetics market, second only to the USA, has almost doubled in size over the past seven years and is now valued at AUD$43.7 billion. "I also was delighted to see premium Australian cheeses and wines displayed alongside the very best European products at gourmet shops in the complex. I believe that the presence of our products in such shops is an important achievement as it demonstrates our capacities to compete in quality and price at the very high end of the processed food market and secures greater returns to our exporters." "Japanese consumers are increasingly recognising the quality of Australian products, and this has led to a swing to higher-value Australian beef. Australian lamb, starting from a low base, but has seen a 400% increase in exports to Hokkaido in last twelve months, and 34 varieties of Australian cheese are now sold in Japan, many of them produced by smaller companies," Mr Vaile said.
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