Tokyo, March 6 - Imports of vegetables from China have plummeted since the end of January, when Chinese-made frozen dumplings contaminated with pesticides sickened several Japanese consumers, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by the Agriculture Ministry, The Nikkei reported in its Friday morning edition.
Japan imported 20,704 tons of vegetables from China in the three weeks of Feb. 2-23, down roughly 40% from the same period a year earlier. The decline was attributed to weaker demand in Japan for Chinese-grown vegetables as well as tougher inspections on the Chinese side when exporting produce.
According to the ministry's latest data, shipments of cabbage and satoimo - a type of taro - fell to about a third of the year-ago amounts. Imports of such vegetables as onions, leeks, burdocks and carrots dropped as well.
Japan's imports of Chinese-grown vegetables from Jan. 6 to Feb. 2 were down about 10% on the year, so the dumpling incidents at the end of January have clearly curtailed shipments.
Looking at weekly figures, imports during the week of Feb. 2-9 were down 16.3% on the year at 9,911 tons. The following week saw a drop of 43.4%, and the figure plunged 60.8% to 4,331 tons the week after that.