Companies Show off Japanese Food at Event in Sao Paulo

Jiji Press

11:39 JST, October 15, 2025

SAO PAULO (Jiji Press) — Japanese businesses showed off their food products at an event in Sao Paulo on Monday as demand for authentic washoku Japanese cuisine is growing in Brazil.

OK Corporation Co., a company based in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, known for its tuna fishing port, will start selling the fish in Brazil this month that the company imports from Japan by freezing it in minus 60 C to inoxidize it.

There is a business opportunity, as tuna prices are high because of short supply, OK Corporation head Kenji Ogawa said at the event hosted by the Japan External Trade Organization.

Tradbras Importacao E Exportacao Ltda., a Brazilian unit of Japanese food manufacturer Kikkoman Corp., showed off rice grown in Niigata Prefecture.

Brazilians learned about Japanese foods’ high quality through trips to Japan, Tradbras President Masahiro Miura said.

The company started importing Niigata-grown rice earlier this year. It aims to sell the rice to retailers in addition to restaurants.

Brazil imports few Japanese fishery products, which occupy about 20% of Japanese food exports, Tetsuya Inoue, director general of JETRO’s Sao Paulo office, said, noting a large market opportunity for them.