Foods

ITOCHU Food Company
ITOCHU Corporation Japan is a leading global trading company with seven major division companies.

The Food Company is one of the largest and most traditional divisions of ITOCHU Corporation and boasts being one of the leading companies in the Japanese domestic food industry. From raw material trading, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution and supply to foodservice and retail sectors, ITOCHU Corporation has working capital and infrastructure throughout the entire food supply chain (upstream to downstream) all over the world. “Strategic, Integrated System” (SIS) on a global scale ensures that vertical integration remains a key factor in the success of ITOCHU Food Company. ITOCHU Australia is a key player within this global system.

Australia is one of the largest countries in the world for natural resources and primary industry production. Therefore it is only natural that ITOCHU Australia is a major source for raw materials and early stage manufactured products for the ITOCHU Food Company in Japan. The majority of products handled by ITOCHU Australia are destined for the Japanese food market through raw material export and further stage processing/distribution by ITOCHU’s affiliated companies. Although the majority of commodities handled are for export, Australia is a large importer of processed foods and ITOCHU Australia is increasingly becoming a supplier of food products to the domestic market utilizing our vast network of overseas offices and processing affiliates to source a variety of products.

Grains

ITOCHU Australia (IAL) is closely aligned with major growers and accumulators of Wheat, Barley, Rice, Canola and other major grains & seeds which are exported to Japan and other Asian countries for further stage processing. IAL is one of the largest suppliers of these products to Japan and is particularly strong in the development of specialty products which differentiate themselves from the commodity base products. One such example is a specific type of Barley which is suited to produce premium quality shochu (traditional Japanese barley spirit) and beer which are branded and marketed accordingly.

Wheat gluten, starch, and flour mix

Through the SIS program of aligning ourselves in further stage processing, IAL is a major exporter of “value added” products such as gluten, starch and flower. Such alliances create stronger relationships and enable “quick response” to market demands.

Oil seeds and Edible fats

With an increasing awareness of more healthy dietary habits globally, the demand for more nutritional grade vegetable oils and edible fats are increasing each year. Japan imports up to 300,000mt of Canola seeds from Australia annually and ITOCHU trades up to one third of this volume each year. ITOCHU is also a major shareholder of FUJI OIL who are a global manufacturer of various products such as Cocoa Butter Equivalent (CBE), Palm based hard butters and other specialty oils such as High Oleic Sunflower Oil. ITOCHU Australia works closely with FUJI OIL (Singapore) in both exporting/supplying a portion of their raw materials and/or importing processed products for large domestic food manufacturers in Australia.

Beef

Australia is a large producer of high quality beef and Japan is one of the largest consuming countries of beef in the world. Therefore it is only natural that ITOCHU has been one of the original trading companies to facilitate this trade. As part of a working “SIS” example, ITOCHU has teamed up with TEYS BROS (largest Australian owned meat processor) and PRIMA HAM (One of the largest meat packers in Japan) to create a joint venture in a beef cattle feedlot in Condamine, Queensland. This working relationship provides high levels of communication and supply chain visibility from “paddock to plate”.

Marine / Seafood

Australia as a country is a net importer of seafood – mainly supplied by large aquaculture industries in South East Asia. However Australia is also one of the main countries for producing premium quality seafood such as Lobster, Tiger Prawns, Salmon, Oysters, Black lip Abalone and one of the best sashimi fish in the world - the Southern Blue Fin Tuna. ITOCHU is fully involved in exporting many varieties of high quality seafood products to not only Japan but increasingly to other parts of the world where demand for regular availability of premium quality seafood is increasing.

Dairy

Products in the dairy industry are diverse and are all gaining rapid growth in demand on a global scale. ITOCHU Australia is involved in exporting a variety of products such as cheese, butter and milk powder products to name a few. ITOCHU is looking to develop involvement within the dairy industry even further. Global supply is limited and demand is increasing (especially in developing countries) for all kinds of dairy products.

Past, Present, Future

Japan as a country has been a key market for Australia on all major commodities for many years. As ITOCHU is a leading Japanese trading company, it’s natural that Japan will remain ITOCHU Australia’s main customer base. In saying this, ITOCHU is a global company with offices in over 80 countries world-wide so IAL’s Food Division is working to increase transactions by further utilizing this global network - enhancing more importing and exporting of products with countries outside the traditional Australia/Japan business route.