Japan to export its ‘perfect with sake’ caviar

JAPAN has already seduced the world with its sushi, but now it hopes to add another item to its menu of successful culinary exports: caviar.

The country is currently preparing to ship domestically produced caviar overseas for the first time in an ambitious attempt to establish itself as a rival to Russia and Iran, the main players in the world market.

The hub of its domestic caviar production is Miyazaki prefecture on southern Kyushu island, whose mild spring waters, which remain at around 63F (17C) throughout the year, have proved ideal for caviar production.

With domestic demand soaring, the first overseas exports of Japanese caviar are expected to take place before the end of the year, ini- tially to east Asian countries, including Hong Kong.

The creation of Japanese caviar is the result of an aquaculture experiment that dates back more than three decades, when officials in Miyazaki — already famed for its beef and pork — began studying sturgeon farming using fish from the former Soviet Union. After initial breeding efforts failed, they switched to North American white sturgeon with greater success, with commercial harvesting beginning in 2013, according to Bloomberg.

Japanese caviar has since found its way onto the menu at a number of French restaurants in Tokyo and is also sold at high-end department stores.

Caviar production in the region is forecast to rise from 132lb in 2014 and 265lb last year to 661lb this year, Motoo Sakamoto, associate director of the Miyazaki caviar producers’ cooperative association told Bloomberg.

“Our caviar tastes milder than imported eggs, and their texture is more smooth, like cream,” said Mr Sakamoto. “If you have them with sake, it will be perfect.”

The rewards of the painstaking process of caviar farming are clear: larger fish yield around 7.7lb of eggs, which can subsequently fetch as much as £5.84 (1,000 yen) per 0.03 ounces, according to Bloomberg.

Miyazaki prefecture now hopes to expand its caviar industry to about £5.8 million (10 billion yen) annually. Other unlikely caviar production areas include Devon, the setting of Exmoor Caviar, Britain’s first caviar farm, which is home to between 20,000 and 30,000 Siberian sturgeons.

Japan has long excelled at not only adopting global culinary trends, but also at times surpassing the original inventors due to painstaking attention to quality and craftsmanship.

This is reflected in the high volume of Michelinstarred French and Italian restaurants in Tokyo as well as its acclaimed whiskies, which now offer serious competition to Scotch.