Photo/Illutration Broccoli (Hironori Kato)

Broccoli has become the cream of the crop after the government recognized it as a “vegetable indispensable to the people’s lives.”

An agriculture ministry representative said it decided to promote broccoli because “compared to other 'designated vegetables,' it is comparable in production volume.”

A government ordinance will be revised and broccoli will be subject to the new status from fiscal 2026.

The agriculture ministry has been selecting vegetables with particularly high consumption rates as designated vegetables since fiscal 1966.

The tree-shaped green plant will join 14 vegetables that have thus been designated: cabbage, cucumber, “satoimo” taro, daikon radish, onion, tomato, eggplant, carrot, green onion, “hakusai” Chinese cabbage, potato, green pepper, spinach and lettuce.

This is the first designation in half a century, since potatoes were designated in 1974.

Once certified as a designated vegetable, a certain scale of production area is appointed as a “designated production area” for each vegetable.

If prices drop significantly, the government will provide farmers with subsidies to ensure the production volume.

Due to the declining population and other factors, production of other vegetables has been flat or falling for the past 10 years, while broccoli production has increased, according to the ministry.

In 2022, broccoli shipments totaled 157,100 tons, up 30 percent from 122,500 tons in 2012. The figure doubled the 77,000 tons shipped in 1989.

Hokkaido, Saitama, Aichi, Tokushima, Kagawa and Nagasaki prefectures are the main production areas.

Broccoli is currently one of 35 “specified vegetables” the government recognizes--important vegetables for which a stable supply must be ensured.

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