TOKYO, July 17. /TASS/. Russian trade mission in Japan is actively working on creation of a positive image of Russian made products in that country, Pyotr Pavlenko, Russia’s trade representative in Japan, told TASS.
According to Pavlenko, his mission is providing comprehensive support to Russian companies seeking promotion of their products in Japan. He noted that Japanese importers still know little about Russia and are wary of new Russian products supplied to their market.
"We always try not only to advise each individual company, but to hold events presenting different goods under "made in Russia" slogan. We clearly explain to our Japanese partners that Russia has wonderful natural food, folk art, high-quality cosmetics, competitive medicines, products of the fashion industry, IT technologies," the official said.
Pavlenko stressed that food products from Russia, including agricultural products, have good prospects in the Japanese market.
"We believe that Russian food products - grains, cereals, honey, berries, certain types of vegetables, confectionery, sausages, tea, various phyto products - have significant prospects in the Japanese market," he said.
According to him, in 2019, supplies of Russian honey to the Japanese market increased by 48%, supplies of vegetables and cereals grew by 23% and 44% respectively and export of nuts and fruits soared 320%
"Unfortunately, we are seeing a drop in exports of many products in the first quarter of 2020, but this is a temporary phenomenon, and as soon as the business chains recover, the supply of Russian food products to the Japanese market will continue to grow," the trade representative said.
Trade prospects
Pavlenko also pointed at good prospects for cooperation in the aluminum industry. In particular, it concerns supplies of Russian primary aluminum with a low carbon footprint to the Japanese market.
"There are prospects for the creation of new capacities in Russia, for example, the production of car wheels for Japanese car manufacturers," he noted.
According to the trade representative, Japanese companies’ demand for concentrates and alloys of non-ferrous metals from Russian producers is also steadily growing.
"The Japanese are interested not only in the metals themselves, but also in a wide range of technical products based on precious metal alloys with high added value: catalytic systems, glass-melting devices, thermometric and laboratory products, pharmaceuticals based on platinum and other non-ferrous metals," he noted.
The Russian trade representative also named active interaction between the two countries in the field of innovation and digital technologies.
"Let me tell you about the latest success in this area. In April 2020, the Russian manufacturer of educational robotics ROBBO opened the first two robotics clubs in Japan," he said.
According to the official, the company was one of the first in the Japanese market to offer online training in programming, 3D modeling and robotics.
"ROBBO Japan was registered in December 2019 at the invitation of the Japanese government, following the company's successful participation in CEATEC-2019, organized with the direct assistance of our trade office," he added.