Existing State of Wasabi Industry in 2015
Over the last decade there has been a large amount of change in the number and size of Wasabi Growers which made up the Wasabi Industry.
Since the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant disaster in Japan, the bulk of the Wasabi growing areas in Japan have been contaminated with radioactivity. This means that the existing state of Wasabi Industry in Japan is almost at zero. Many rivers and streams which are the backbone of wasabi growing in Japan are contaminated, farmers have been removed from the growing areas and to all extents and purposes the wasabi farms have been left to run wild. At one stage Wasabi Powder from Japan was banned for import into many countries unless it was tested for radioactive contamination. That ban has now been lifted and Japan sources most of its wasabi for processing from China and Taiwan.
China and Taiwan still have ongoing problems with plant diseases. The main reason for this is because they are growing wasabi in the ground and have been replanting in contaminated disease prone areas.
The main USA grower sold out to a large corporation who shut the wasabi farm down after a couple of years because “it was too hard to grow”. There are a small number of wasabi growers still growing small amounts of wasabi mainly for their local fresh market. The demand still exceeds supply as is evidenced by the number of contacts we get from around the world to supply product.
The largest wasabi farm in Canada was sold to a New Zealand company because the original wasabi grower was not able to sell their wasabi product because of a contractual dispute with their only buyer. Attempts by the buyer to get more people to invest in setting up their own wasabi farms under contract to them is ongoing, with the sole buyer retaining all the selling rights to their wasabi. This does not bode well for the continuance of the Canadian Wasabi industry. Canadian food manufacturers are importing wasabi powder because they cannot get any from the local suppliers.
Australia has a few wasabi farms in Tasmania (mainly pioneers) who have a few thousand plants growing, and another in Victoria with even less wasabi plants. The existing state of wasabi industry in Australia is a bit hamstrung as it appears that scientists and bureaucracy have managed to get a stranglehold on the fledgling industry.
The Food Act 2014 will come into force by 1 March 2016 in New Zealand. This moves the goalposts significantly where this New Food Bill is likely to destroy the Wasabi Industry in New Zealand. The compliance costs through all aspects of the growing, processing, storage and marketing of Wasabi (Fresh and Processed) products will push the prices of fresh and processed wasabi into the stratosphere. Obtaining a growing license through the Government channels appears to be long and convoluted – this will be made more difficult because it is wasabi and not something simple – like tomatoes or lettuce. Already a number of smaller wasabi farms have shut down because of the small demand for fresh wasabi in New Zealand.
The EU government laboratories are starting to take seriously the blatant false advertising on 99% plus of products on the store shelves that claim to contain wasabi. The fake wasabi products are being removed from the shelves and DNA testing on wasabi products are being carried out on a regular basis in both the USA and EU.
Current Existing State of Wasabi Industry
The current demand for high quality wasabi in all its forms (fresh, processed and powder) exceeds supply by a large margin. Less and less wasabi (Wasabia japonica) is now available just when the demand for wasabi is rising very fast.
The public had become aware of the false claims made by food manufacturers and are now demanding the real product instead of the fake stuff. This movement can only grow as people become more aware of what they are eating.
Ageing wasabi growers in Okutama were hit for six by contamination fears after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, then set back even further by damage from freak snowfalls in early 2014. However, product on display at this year’s agricultural fair indicates that some leading producers are back in business.