Dear International Fugu Association members,
Hello everyone, this is the IFA representative Furukawa.
This newsletter is the 50th special edition of the International Fugu Association.
It is already the last newsletter in 2020.
Thank you very much for your support for one year.
This year was a terrible year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, next year I am enthusiastic about our activities that will make Japanese Fugu loved by people worldwide.
Early in the new year, IFA will carry out two promotions approved and commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries from January to February 2021.
１，Promotion for Singapore
・ We will connect Japan and restaurants in Singapore online, invite local buyers and chefs to the restaurant venue. We will host a seminar to deliver Fugu explanations, offer tastings, and receive participants' impressions on Japanese Fugu.
・There will be two venues in Singapore, a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant.
・Local buyers and chefs select the venue and register on the WEB.
・ A supplier will be present at the venue, and buyers and chefs who come to the restaurant will sample each product cooked in Japanese and Chinese styles while looking at the product catalog with a quote, and have them decide their purchasing decision.
・We want to hold it in a business meeting style to receive orders from the suppliers later.
・We are thinking about five tasting samples.
・ The schedule will be held only for one day from 1/25 to 2/5.
・ Please join us if you are a member of the International Fugu Association.
・First of all, please reply to this email by 17:00 on Friday, January 8.
・After that, please propose one or two items with product data or leaflet brochures.
・You can prepare it in Japanese. We will translate it into English.
・The only muscle part of Fugu can be imported into Singapore.
・Also, the additive stevia is not acceptable, so please contact us if you have questions.
・We will inform you about the details later, but please prepare the company information, one product brochure, product label, and quotation as soon as possible. (Valid period is until the end of April 2021, product name, product lot, and price delivered to Tokyo or Fukuoka)
・We will deliver them to the local suppliers.
・Even if you are worried that you have never exported Fugu to Singapore, we will firmly support you accomodating payment in Japan.
・Please note that we may not accommodate all the IFA members' participation due to lack of time this time.
２，Promotion for Malaysia
・ For Malaysia, we will create a promotional VTR for Japanese Fugu in Malay and other languages to appeal to local buyers and chefs.
・ Also, we will have a famous Malaysian restaurant in Japan to cook Malay-style creative Fugu dishes, shoot videos of cooking scenery, presentation, tasting, etc. and distribute the WEB video.
・We are considering excerpting products from Singapore promotion for the information on each processed Fugu products.
・ We are proceeding so that we can upload it from February 1.
* Since there is not enough time to produce both promotions, cooperation from each organization and company is indispensable.
We want to prepare for a good promotion, and we appreciate your cooperation.
Looking back on the activities of the International Fugu Association in 2020,
In January, the International Fugu Association implemented a regional representative system to facilitate overseas promotion and government negotiations.
・Ms.Linda Loke in Singapore,
・Mr.Philip Liaw in Taiwan,
・Mr.Toshio Himuro in Hong Kong and Macau, and
・Mr.Takehiko Yamamoto in New Zealand.
In February, we held an International Fugu Association Seminar at the Seafood Show Osaka.
"Live !! Fugu study session with Singapore Food Agency (SFA)"
Professor Yuji Nagashima, Niigata Food and Agriculture University
"National unification of Fugu processing certification standards of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and future"
President Kazuhiro Kamei, National Fugu Federation
"Fugu promotion to Singapore"
Yukihiro Furukawa, President of International Fugu Association
I received a request from Reuters of England to cover Japanese Fugu.
Information dissemination started on SNS in May.
・Twitter：https://twitter.com/ifa_fugu
・Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/ifa.fugu/
・Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/国際ふぐ協会-108534487527134/
In September, seven domestic Fugu vendors and organizations gathered to create the first "Fugu Pavilion" at the Seafood Show Tokyo.
At the online meeting, we introduced each booth to overseas buyers. When each exhibitor cooperated at the booth, there was a lot of excitement, such as Fugu dressing and sashimi preparation demonstration, grilled Fugu cooking demonstration, and Fugu soup stock tasting.
https://www.seafood-show.com/fugu/report/pdf/report_11605586523.pdf
From August to October, we conducted a Fugu export questionnaire to Japanese Fugu dealers nationwide and announced the results in November.
https://www.seafood-show.com/fugu/report/pdf/report_11605586523.pdf
Please check the website of the association for details of each activity.
http://www.exhibitiontech.com/fugu/report.html
Thanks to all of you, I was able to do my best amid the coronavirus pandemic this year.
Little by little every year, but we are making steady progress.
We want to continue working actively in 2021 with hope, and we appreciate your continued guidance and encouragement.