Akatsuki, the main peach variety grown in Fukushima Prefecture, may one day be past its best-before date by the Bon holidays in mid-August when many people travel to the prefecture, as its harvesting season is getting earlier year by year.
This year, the peak harvest season for Akatsuki came about a week or 10 days earlier than the average year.
JA Fukushima Mirai, an agricultural cooperative based in the city of Fukushima, attributes this year’s early harvest to good weather in early spring and the scorching heat in the summer.