Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. is planning a pilot program to produce vegetables and fruit in China for sale at a department store in Tianjin, sources said Wednesday.
Isetan Mitsukoshi will begin trial production in the northeastern Chinese city in August in a tieup with a farming corporation in Miyazaki Prefecture to determine whether to put the project into practice on a commercial basis, the sources said.
Apples and other fruit produced in Japan are in strong demand among affluent Chinese consumers because of their safety and high quality, but they are subject to import restrictions in connection with plant quarantine rules.