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Why is the Fresh Wasabi Price so high?
The price of Fresh Wasabi varies dependent upon the season, and the growers proximity to the market.
The normal supply and demand cycle also affects the price of fresh wasabi. It is for this reason that fresh wasabi rhizome is normally priced very high.
The reality is that fresh wasabi does not travel very well and if the grower is not situated very close to the market such that it can be delivered to the end-user within two days, the fresh wasabi deteriorates unless kept chilled. Even then there is a finite time to keep it – our experience is less than ten days, although others claim it will last a month.
The other thing that affects the price of fresh wasabi is the demand. Since fresh wasabi is hand harvested, sorted and packed before being shipped, with very small individual amounts being supplied the price increases quickly. The fact that most people and even shops only want one or two rhizomes, or even only a couple of pounds at any one time drives the price continually upwards.
As far as the grower is concerned, they want to get the maximum return for the 18 month to 3 years that they have put into growing the real Wasabia japonica rhizome. This plant is recognised as being very difficult to grow and for this reason there are only a few growers able to grow high quality products for the market.
All of these factors together makes the real wasabi price high without even taking into account the transport costs as most Wasabia japonica travels by air from the grower to the end-user.
Solution to high Fresh Wasabi Prices.
From a growers point of view, they want the best price they can get for their fresh wasabi crop. Since the fresh wasabi market is so small and fickle most growers sell their crop to major food producers, thereby reducing the amount of fresh wasabi available.
An increasing number of growers are now using their crop to produce 100% Pure Wasabi Powder which they then sell on. The problem with this is that the majority of them use the whole plant including the stems and leaves, which increases the volume of the end product, but significantly reduces the value and potency of their wasabi powder. The major benefit for the wasabi grower is that even though their costs have increased slightly, their crop can be stored in good condition for a lot longer time than the fresh product can be.
There is one grower who processes their crop using only the rhizome of the Wasabia japonica plant. This is the part with the most active ingredients, and is the part normally grated fresh at the tables of the most expensive restaurants. This 100% Pure Wasabia japonica rhizome powder can be found here.
The solution is for wholesalers and retailers to buy bigger quantities of fresh wasabi rhizomes at a time, and make a marketing plan around this. This will reduce the Fresh Wasabi Price – but that takes time, resources and willingness by all the parties involved. Since the present business model prevalent in today’s society seems to be to maximise income and minimise cost at all levels, this collaboration is unlikely to happen. The purchaser doesn’t seem to care that they screw the supplier down so far on price that the supplier eventually goes broke.
Here is an unsolicited email I received from a Wasabi buyer just the other day, which I think illustrates this point very well.
“Good Day Michel:
Appreciate your business ethic to try and attract new persons into becoming farmers. . . . or enthusiasts
My purpose was only to locate cost effective rhizomes of this plant. We are a “Sushi” distributor in and we have purchased “Fresh” Wasabi for the last 7 years so I am familiar with the product. Problem is some suppliers go out of business while other are just starting out. So it is my job to secure reasonable priced high quality product. We are not into paying exorbitant prices when we already know the real market prices from Taiwan, China, and Japan, Oregon,
Washington, BC . . and other growers that offer the product into the market.Keep me posted . . and just remember . . .
Unless you have got something that no-body has and you are lucky enough to sell for super high prices . . on a small scale . . the business will just do well . . . and keep those customers! Otherwise to attract new business . . your product has to be better than, and equal to the prices and quality in the overall market . . . Keep me posted you do good work.
Regards,
Joe ”
<We removed the name of the city, but the other errors are as it came>.
As you can see from the above. the buyer never asks himself the question ” Why do “some suppliers go out of business”? He obviously doesn’t realise that most wasabi growers go out of business because they can’t earn enough selling their crop to justify replanting it.
Yes, there will always be a revolving door of growers entering and leaving the wasabi industry – that is the nature of things, but if people cannot get a decent Wasabi Price for their product, then eventually the Wasabi growing industry will die.
Buy more Fresh Wasabi when you see it, and the Wasabi Price will start coming down as demand and supply increases.
Michel Van Mellaerts (The Wasabi Maestro) is the recognized World authority and expert on the practical Growing, Processing and Marketing of Wasabia japonica. He and his wife have been commercially growing Wasabia japonica longer than anyone else outside Japan.
Trained as an Engineer he has invented and installed many improved growing systems into their farms. These enable high quality Wasabi to be grown anywhere in the World.
The Wasabi Maestroes have set up commercial Wasabi growing farms from the Arctic Circle to Southern New Zealand, including the Equator. They have worked with individual growers, national governments, and investment groups on four continents.
These growing systems have reduced growing times by nearly 67%, improved yield and quality of the Wasabi rhizome, and increased the levels of active ingredients by nearly 100%. It is these active ingredients that independent scientific studies show kills cancer cells and improves human health.
They pioneered the use of Wasabia japonica in the Nutraceutical and Medical industries. They are at the leading edge of research into the benefits of Wasabi on human and animal health.
The Wasabi Maestroes offer a Training and Consultancy service for potential and actual Wasabi growers who only want to learn from the best. Others spend their time floundering around trying to find out what information is useful and what isn’t.
The Training has been proven and improved over the last 20 years plus of personal commercial Wasabi growing. This has been hands on, getting wet and dirty work – not guesswork from behind a desk.
Get more information about becoming a Wasabi Grower now!