Croatian Pršut and Kulen Sold in Japan Soon

From 2016 the Japanese market will be wide open for Croatia’s local meat industry…

It has been a long, drawn out process which started over four years ago, but from March 2016 exporting meat to Japan will be a reality for local Croatian producers. Baring any unforseen problems, the Japanese government are expected to finally give the green light to meat imports, meaning delicacies such as pršut and kulen will be on the shelves in the land of the rising sun from next year.

Japan’s Ambassador to Croatia Keiji Ide told Poslovni dnevnik that representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture had recently visited Croatia where they were tasked to see if the Croatian meat industry met Japan’s strict meat import criteria. During their visit, the delegation conducted inspections at the Croatian Veterinary Institute, pig and cattle farms, slaughterhouses, and also checked facilities at meat processing and production plants in Croatia.

“After the visit the expert team informed us that the Croatian side is very well prepared for and they were very pleased. Generally, they had no major complaints about the Croatian system, but there is still work to do before a final conclusion is made,” said Ambassador Ide.

Mirjana Mataušić Pišl, from Croatia’s Agriculture Ministry, says that she is happy that Croatia passed the inspections with flying colours.

“The complexity of the procedures for exporting to Japan is best illustrated by the fact that the complete process for many countries, on average, is ten years, and we should be complete within four years,” said Mataušić Pišl, adding that the green light to allow meat exports to Japan should come from Tokyo by the first quarter next in 2016.