Japan looks to Malaysia to achieve farm export goals

Japan’s agriculture ministry is preparing to start negotiations with the 11 other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) aimed at boosting its farm exports, reports Nikkei Asian Review.
Among its first priorities, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to start talks as early as this month with Malaysia, focusing on quarantine procedures and other conditions for exporting Japanese chicken. Under the TPP free trade agreement, Malaysia will end a 20 percent import tariff on chicken immediately after the pact takes effect.
The Japanese government plans to progress the talks with other TPP members with the view to raising its farm exports by 60 percent to JPY1.0 trillion (US$8.0 billion) per year by 2020.
Japan, the U.S. and 10 other Pacific Rim countries reached broad agreement over the TPP deal in early October of 2015 but details over specific export terms are still to be finalized. Import tariffs on 98 percent of Japanese agricultural exports will eventually be eliminated.