From spring 2002, the Japanese convenience store operator Lawson will begin to use vegetables organically grown in China for nearly all its prepared meals, Nikkei said. The company said that this would not mean an increase in prices because the imported products cost one-fifth of vegetables grown non-organically in Japan.
Lawson already operates several farms in China that grow nine kinds of vegetables including taro, spinach and cauliflower. The company also operates factories in Shanghai and Jiangsu that freeze Chinese produce for shipment to Japan.