Although the world market for tropical fruits is growing, Malaysia’s share in the overall international fruit trade is relatively insignificant. It has been widely established that Japan has the world’s second largest food service sector; its food market is three times greater than all other Asian food markets combined. Thus, Japan is a prime target for the export of fresh Malaysian fruits, presenting innumerable opportunities for enterprising exporters.
Building on this, the research team comprising of Faridah Hj Hassan, Rosidah Musa, Jamaliah Yusof and Jamaluddin Yahya, conducted a pioneering study to explore the export potential for Malaysian fresh tropical fruits in the Japanese market. Specifically, the research aims to gain richer insights into the legal regulations and administrative procedures of exporting fresh fruits into Japan; to examine implicitly the distribution system for imported fresh fruits; to assess the attitudes and taste preferences of Japanese consumers as well as their awareness and acceptance of Malaysian fruits in order to ascertain the potential export of Malaysian fruits to Japan.