Dear International Fugu Association members,
Hello everyone, this is IFA President Furukawa.
We are happy to send the first newsletter of the International Fugu Association in 2021.
We are still at the mercy of the new coronavirus every day, but I hear many voices, which say, "Let's hold on and survive!"
We will do our best to provide a bright topic as much as possible.
1) The first topic is the promotion of Japanese Fugu and in Singapore.
I couldn't travel to Singapore, but we successfully launched it on January 25 with various people's cooperation.
I am incredibly grateful to Ms. Linda Loke, the representative of our association in Singapore. It wouldn't have been possible to hold the event without her and her staff.
See also the video
https://www.seafood-show.com/fugu/singapore2021/
Nearly no infected people in Singapore, but many restrictions remain, such as no more than eight people per group to enter the restaurant.
We still accept reservations for about 200 buyers and general consumers under such circumstances. We offer seven kinds of Fugu recipes prepared in Chinese style, plus yellowtail and tuna per guest.
(Ingredients provided by Michinaka Co., Ltd., Yoshida Suisan Co., Ltd., Kai Co., Ltd., Nagano Shoten Co., Ltd., Yamaga Co., Ltd., and JF Zenyoren)
The event is held for 14 days from January 25 to February 7 in compliance with the social distance requirement.
After sitting down at an assigned table, the buyer who made the reservation will hand over eight Fugu companies' pamphlets after watching my greetings and the on-demand video of Fugu kindly provided by the Japan Mariculture Association and the Shimonoseki Next Generation Meeting.
Following it is tasting one item at a time and fill out the questionnaire.
At the end of the event, the two suppliers will hand out business visitors a product quotation.
The promotion is proceeding smoothly, and the participated buyers have given a high evaluation.
We will keep close contact between Japan and Singapore so that no hindrance for the rest of the period.
I think we can report the detailed results next month.
2) When exporting Fugu muscle parts to Singapore, the processing plant must submit a Puffer fish hygiene certificate to the health center.
This time, we were not required to have the seal on the certificate application.
We want to thank the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare for lifting the requirement.
It's a small thing, but excellent to have easing regulations and to improve efficiency.
All of the people who responded to the Fugu export questionnaire conducted last year favored exporting, so I think we need to make the export documentation process more straightforward.
3) Promotion of Japanese Fugu in Malaysia.
The promotion material has been shot at a Malaysian restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, and is currently editing.
In addition to the homepage information, because "I wanted to ask local restaurant chefs to cook Japanese Fugu and hear their opinions!", we are preparing to deliver the dressed fish to about 100 restaurants in kind cooperation with a local supplier.
We are looking forward to the Fugu menu in variety with full of impressions and opinions.
We hope to report the results next month together with that of Singapore.
4) In December, we have cooperated with the shooting of the Kanmon Fugu video by Star Flyer, an airline headquartered in Kitakyushu.
The airline is distributing it to app members.
5) Information on the 18th "Seafood Show Osaka."
Last year, we made the first Fugu pavilion at the Tokyo Seafood Show.
Let's advertise in Osaka, which is a big consumer of blowfish! We look forward to your participation.
Show period: March 17 (Wednesday) to 18 (Thursday), 2021
Venue: ATC Hall
Exhibit scale: 450 booths
Application deadline: February 26, 2021 (Friday)
Exhibition fee: 1 booth (length 2.0m x width 2.0m) 90,000 yen excluding tax * Package included
Let's do our best to overcome the coronavirus!
We look forward to your continued guidance and encouragement.
