Japan to Allocate Increased Funds to Export Promotion, Trade Deal 'Countermeasures'

The Japanese Cabinet recently approved its 2019 supplementary budget, which will provide the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with $2.97 billion toward “trade agreement countermeasures,” according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 30. The $2.97 billion is about a 2 percent increase from the previous year, the USDA said, and will be allocated toward countermeasures that include “export promotion” and support to increase the number of cattle raised in Japan. The funding will also support Japan’s “livestock sector,” small and medium-sized family farms and “smart agriculture.”