Tokushima - Production of Asahi Ponzu, a popular seasoning that has been a fixture on Kansai dining tables for decades, has been suspended for the first time in the product's roughly 60-year history as a severe shortage of sudachi citrus exposes a deepening crisis in Tokushima Prefecture, which accounts for 98% of Japan's shipments.
The manufacturer halted production in June because it could not secure enough sudachi juice, a key ingredient that determines the product's distinctive flavor. Some stores have since run out of the product, while bottles have appeared for resale online at sharply inflated prices.
The company had secured a supply of sudachi juice for this year's production, but its quality deteriorated for an unspecified reason. Attempts to obtain additional supplies proved difficult because the overall harvest was already limited.
Production is scheduled to resume in October, when juice made from sudachi harvested during the summer becomes available, but concerns remain over the continuing decline in production.
Sudachi, a small green citrus known for its sharp acidity and fragrance, is commonly squeezed over grilled fish, used as a garnish in Japanese cuisine and incorporated into ponzu and other seasonings.
The impact of the shortage is already being felt by restaurants. An udon shop in Honmachi, Osaka, uses two Tokushima-grown sudachi in each serving of a popular summer cold udon dish and can consume as much as two boxes a day during the season.
The restaurant said the price of sudachi has risen to around 1,560 yen, compared with as little as 680 yen at its cheapest in the past.
Behind the price increase is a steep decline in supply. Japan's sudachi harvest has fallen to less than half its level of 10 years ago.
The problem is particularly acute in Tokushima, which supplies 98% of the sudachi shipped nationwide. In Kamiyama, one of the prefecture's major production areas, farmers are now in the middle of the annual harvest.
Sudachi trees themselves are relatively tolerant of heat, farmers say, but the people harvesting the fruit are increasingly struggling with hotter summers and an aging workforce.
The outdoor sudachi harvest begins around mid-August and lasts only about a month and a half. Farmers must pick the fruit within that narrow window because sudachi turns yellow as it matures, changing both its appearance and flavor.
Many growers are elderly and find it increasingly difficult to continue strenuous harvesting work for long periods in midsummer heat.
The terrain adds another burden. Sudachi cultivation is suited to areas with elevation differences, and many orchards are located on steep mountain slopes where simply moving around can require considerable physical effort.
The number of sudachi farmers in Kamiyama has fallen to about three-quarters of the level recorded 10 years ago.
Expanding production outside Tokushima is also difficult because the prefecture has accumulated specialized cultivation and storage techniques over generations.
Some producers use temperature-controlled storage facilities developed over decades to keep harvested sudachi green for months. By controlling temperature and preventing sunlight from reaching the fruit, growers can maintain its characteristic green color and ship sudachi throughout the year.
One farmer said such refrigeration and preservation methods have been refined since his grandfather's generation about 60 years ago, making the expertise difficult to reproduce quickly elsewhere.
A Tokushima University professor specializing in agricultural distribution warned that if current trends continue without effective countermeasures, sudachi production could effectively disappear around 2050.
Tokushima Prefecture is seeking to counter the decline through new varieties, including Katsuura No. 1, which has been developed to remain green later into the season.
Conventional sudachi begins turning yellow as autumn progresses, forcing growers to complete harvesting within a short period. Katsuura No. 1 can retain its green color into October, allowing farmers to spread harvesting over a longer period without significantly changing the flavor.
The longer harvest window could reduce pressure on growers facing labor shortages and allow farms that have been unable to expand because of the concentrated harvest season to increase production.
Some local farmers have already begun cultivating the new variety.
The challenge now is whether new varieties, improved production methods and measures to secure enough workers can reverse the decline in a crop that has long been central to Tokushima agriculture and Kansai food culture.
Source: KTV NEWS
