On September 9, 2015, Dr. Huang Xiaochun of the Faculty of Humanities at Hirosaki University gave us a lecture entitled “International Economic Activities”, especially focusing on the apple industry.

　Aomori apples greatly contribute to the development of the world apple industry. They have become the driving force to produce good apples, affecting things such as development of varieties, cultivation methods, an auction system to set apple prices, application for the world agriculture inheritance registration, and so on. However, apple farmers aren’t provided enough profit proportionate to their high contribution.

　Aomori apples are known to have good quality, and exports to Taiwan and other markets are growing. The apple industry has been already globalized. However, it has not been established as an export industry, so new business models need to be built up.

　The market expansion to overseas is necessary to maintain apple farmlands which have been decreasing. It is necessary to establish the apple industry as an export industry, to conduct marketing researches, and to develop human resources.

Dr. Huang Xiaochun of the Faculty of Humanities at Hirosaki University