Chapter 33: Shimada's Discovery

  "Mr. Otsu, are you satisfied with the results of this inspection?!" By dusk, the first stage of the inspection had finally come to an end. In fact, it was only about 50 mu, and Mr. Otsu and his team had inspected very quickly.

  Of course, a detailed analysis still requires professional instruments to obtain. However, based on the current observation, Daishima and others have initially confirmed that the vegetable resources of Qiong Island can be developed.

  With this determination, the next step is a comprehensive argument. The soil standard and vegetable specimens, Oshima and his party have already collected them. Just bring them back to Japan, and they can be subjected to comprehensive testing and analysis.

  Otsu Yurushi attaches great importance to this matter. Having come to the island of Qing with such difficulty and having walked so many roads, it was all for the purpose of opening up a new market. Now that he has seen the dawn, how could Otsu Yurushi not attach great importance to it?

  "Mr. Nelson, first of all, I'm very satisfied with this inspection trip. But I need to inform you that our cooperation still needs the final approval from headquarters."

  But then Otsu Jun bowed deeply to Nelson and said, "As for me personally, I have high hopes for this collaboration. I also believe that our cooperation will yield perfect results."

  Liang Sanping, who was following Nelson, couldn't help but laugh in his heart when he heard this. This Okada Yuko was indeed a cunning businessman, not saying much but making you feel like he was so sincere.

  What Otsu-san said is very simple, I'm satisfied. But whether the headquarters is satisfied or not, I don't know. This sounds extremely reasonable, after all, the decision of the headquarters can't be influenced by a regional manager like Otsu-san alone!

  However, there is one thing that this sentence does not mention: the standard of the headquarters must have been based on the report from Otsu Yorozu. It is impossible for the headquarters to make a decision without understanding Otsu's report at all.

  If it were done this way, Wan Hong Company would have gone bankrupt long ago and wouldn't have developed to what it is today.

  Otsu's statement was intended to calm down Nelson on the one hand, and use the uncertainty of headquarters to negotiate prices on the other.

  "Well then, since you're interested, let's discuss the framework of our cooperation first." Nelson didn't bother with any formalities and spoke directly to Otsu.

  "I want to know how many cooperative merchants Bayong Company has?! And how many supermarkets will our vegetables be placed on the shelves?!"

  Li Sanping couldn't help but laugh at the words, Nelson was indeed a negotiation expert. Especially when facing Japanese people, I don't care about your headquarters or whatever. What I care about is our cooperation, and my cooperative partner is you.

  Now that you're satisfied, let's discuss how we can cooperate. As for the situation at your headquarters, you handle it yourself. I don't care what they think.

  Otsu Yū couldn't help but bitterly smile, the tactics he used to deal with others seemed ineffective in front of Nelson.

  Nelson is after all a Westerner, accustomed to doing business in a straightforward manner. Of course, this doesn't mean they won't resort to cunning tactics. It's just that the tactics they employ are always based on technical superiority.

  "We have seventeen supermarkets in Tokyo alone that cooperate with Wan Hong." However, Otsu Yunosuke hesitated for a moment and said, "As for the whole of Japan, our cooperative supermarkets exceed thirty. Of course, we may not be able to put all of them on display at every supermarket."

  "I can assure you that this batch of vegetables will be sold out within a month after arriving in Japan."

  Neither side mentioned the price, and Liang Sanping knew why. To ensure the stability of vegetable production and residents' consumption, in 1966, Japan promulgated the "Vegetable Production and Sales Stabilization Act", laying the legislative foundation for implementing a vegetable price guarantee plan (Japanese: Vegetable Price Stabilization System). The law was amended three times in 1971, 1976, and 2006.

  In accordance with the law, Japan established the Vegetable Production and Sales Stabilization Fund Association as a sales autonomous organization in the 1970s, and the Price Stabilization Fund of Vegetables as a planned management organization.

  In 2002, due to Japan's administrative system reform, the relevant management functions of the above institutions were transferred to its administrative unit "Agricultural and Livestock Industries Corporation" (an independent corporation).

  The funding source for Japan's vegetable price guarantee program is mainly from the central and local government fiscal budget, with participating farmers or sales cooperatives paying a portion of the funds. The proportion of farmer expenditures varies depending on the type of vegetables and category of plan.

  The sales cooperative collects the planned funds from vegetable farmers before each quarter's planting and submits them to the agricultural and animal husbandry revitalization institution. At the end of the year, if there is a surplus, it will be returned to the vegetable farmers through the sales cooperative.

  Therefore, Otsu Yū was unable to determine the price of vegetables after they arrived in Japan. This matter required a high-ranking official from Wan Kō Corporation to personally go to the Funding Association for communication.

  Of course, Liang Sanping believes this will not be a problem. Because the vegetables from Jeju Island are not entering Japan during peak season to grab market share, but rather as supplements during off-peak seasons. This will not harm Japan's own agricultural mainstay.

  "As of now, the average price of fresh vegetables in Tokyo is around 215 yen/kg. Frozen vegetables are priced at an average of 169 yen/kg. More specifically, it depends on the type and sales area of the vegetable."

  Otsu Yurushi and Oshima were discussing a collaboration, when Oshima quietly handed over a document to Otsu. He then bowed his head and retreated, while Otsu opened the document, scanned it briefly, and spoke to Nelson.

  "Of course, during the off-season, this price will be slightly higher..."

  Nelson smiled and said: "I believe your company can sell our vegetables at a higher price, but we need to cooperate with each other in a win-win mindset..."

  "I completely agree with your views, Mr. Nelson..." Otsu Yunosuke nodded with a wry smile, it seemed that this cooperation was not so easy to talk about after all. After all, Nelson is not Chinese, if it were the Chinese side, Otsu Yunosuke would have had ideas to exert some pressure on his owner through the Chinese government.

  Force them to make concessions on prices, and then reap the profits. Such a thing, Otsu Yunosuke is not without doing it. They just took advantage of China's current lack of foreign exchange and tried to use this opportunity to expand their own profits.

  But contrary to Daisho's expectations, Nelson didn't mention the price directly. Instead, he chuckled and started talking about some interesting things he saw today, and his views on this vegetable garden.

  Then he bid farewell with Liang Sanping.

  "Otsu-san, I think we should just accept this price!" However, a researcher named Shimoda who had come with Otsu Yū seemed somewhat dissatisfied and said: "If Nelson can grow vegetables here, then so can we!"

  "Wow! Shimada! You're really a wake-up call for someone who's dreaming! Haha...!" Otsu Yū heard this and couldn't help but brighten up. That's right, this is the best way to do it!

  If Nalson can cooperate with the Chinese side, why can't Wang Hong?! Wang Hong has many advantages over Nalson and can completely establish a planting base and processing base on the island of Hainan.

  At that time, directly plant the vegetables needed on the island of Hainan and export them back to their home country. In fact, many Japanese agricultural companies did so in later generations.

  In places like Lu Zhong and Minjiang, they established many Sino-Japanese joint venture agricultural companies. Then, on a large scale in China, they planted vegetables, which after passing inspection were transported back to Japan for sale.

  China's vegetable exports to Japan once exceeded 10 million tons, and the transaction amount, or the foreign exchange earned from China's vegetable exports, reached tens of billions of dollars.

  Japan was once forced to impose anti-dumping measures on China and strongly protect its domestic agricultural product market. Unfortunately, this did not work.

  Japan's agricultural workforce plummeted from 12 million in 1960 to 2.34 million in 1998, accounting for only 1.8% of the total population. Moreover, the aging of the agricultural population is quite severe, with farmers over 60 years old accounting for 65%, and males over 60 years old accounting for more than 75%.

  Moreover, Japan's agricultural management is also poor, with a planting area of only 0.5 hectares per person, making it difficult to carry out mechanized planting, and the cost of fertilizers and labor is high. At the same time, their special requirements for vegetable quality have also led to a lot of waste.

  These factors combined have led to Japan's agricultural products having high prices. There is almost no competition with foreign agricultural products...

  Here is the translation:

  Take a simple example: because China's planting areas have flat land suitable for mechanized farming, and the cost of using fertilizers and pesticides is lower, so production costs are low. The green onions exported to Japan can be sold at 103 yen per kilogram, while the same product produced in Japan would lose money if it was sold for less than 200 yen per kilogram.

  "Oshima-san, what do you think of Shimada-san's opinion?" Ozaki asked, turning to Oshima after a moment of hesitation.

  "Mr. Shimada's proposal is excellent!" However, Oshima slightly bowed and said in a low voice: "I also recently retrieved the data of Kyushu Island to review it, this place is very suitable for planting vegetables and breeding some agricultural products."

  "For example, Wuzhishan Xiang pig, this breed is actually very good. And along the way, we can see that they have many venues available for us to build farms and plantations..."

  Oshima paused for a moment, then said: "We can complete this transaction and then apply to the Chinese side for cooperation. We will establish a planting and breeding base here in Japan's standards, produce these products and transport them back home for sale..."

  "Alright! Let's do it!" Dajin Yun laughed and applauded, saying: "Those vegetables are at most fifty tons or so, even if Nelson takes some advantage of us, what can we do?! We should also thank him for leading us through this road!"

  Hahaha...

  The Japanese in the room burst out laughing, thinking that if they proposed cooperation with China at this time, it would be a welcome development for the Chinese side.