Rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture will be exported in late August for the first time since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture will be exported in late August for the first time since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations said Aug. 18 it initially plans to export the rice to Singapore.
With Singapore signaling that it regards the Fukushima grain as safe, the federation hopes that exports will expand to other parts of Asia.
According to the federation and Fukushima prefectural authorities, 300 kilograms of the much-prized Koshihikari variety of rice produced last year in Sukagawa in the prefecture will be exported.
It will be sold at the upscale Meidi-Ya Singapore supermarket beginning Aug. 22.
Rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture had been exported to Taiwan and Hong Kong before the nuclear disaster stirred concerns over contamination from radioactive materials spewed from the stricken nuclear plant.
The federation and the prefecture have been promoting the safety of the rice to businesses in Singapore by explaining the screening system used to detect contamination.