“Morning picking/Ripe” Fig harvest begins in Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture! / Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture
*Kawanishi City*
Press release: August 14, 2024
**
“Morning picking/Ripe” Fig harvest begins in Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture! / Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture
*Harvesting is in full swing! On the 16th (Friday) there will be a sale at Aste Kawanishi*
How figs are harvested
*
In Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, which is known for its production of figs, the harvest of “morning-picked, fully ripe” figs has begun, and farmers are busy harvesting and shipping from early in the morning. The annual fig sales event will be held on the 16th at Aste Kawanishi Pipu Square (Sakaemachi 25) (will end once sold out). Kawanishi City boasts the second largest fig harvest in the
prefecture. The nickname is “Blessings of Morning Harvest.” *
Kawanishi City grows about 100 figs, mainly in the Kushiro, Kamo, and Eine districts in the southern part of the city, making use of its location near large cities such as Osaka and Kobe, as well as its warm climate. Over 12 hectares of farmland are produced by over 100 farmers.
Approximately 400 tons are shipped annually, mainly to the Keihanshin region. In the city, it will be sold at JA’s Agricultural Cooperative Market Hall “Shiki no Sato” (Tada Sakuragi 2), “Kawanishi Nanbu Direct Sales Office” (Kuyo 1), as well as supermarkets.
Additionally, outside the city, you can purchase at JA Hyogo Rokko Farmers Market “Smile Hanshin” (3 Kitahonmachi, Itami City).
The figs are the Masui Dauphin variety, which is currently grown nationwide. The figs from Kawanishi are particularly fresh, and are characterized by being picked in the morning and fully ripened.
Early in the morning, before the sun has yet risen, we carefully pick each ripe red fruit (fully ripe) one by one.
After that, packaging work is carried out, and joint shipping is carried out. The figs collected at the collection point are the freshest, so they are delivered to stores and to consumers’ tables within the same day.
Mr. Mikio Yamada, a farmer who grows figs at Kamo 6-chome, Kawanishi City. Mikio (51 years old) has about 100 fig trees planted in his
approximately 10 are field, and the sweet scent of figs fills the air. The three members of my family have been working on the harvest since around 4 a.m.
At peak times, harvesting begins around 2 a.m. and continues until collection at around 8 a.m.
This year’s harvest started on July 31st. Work will continue until the end of September.
Mr. Yamada, who is working on the figs, said, “This year, there was less rain even before the harvest, and we had a series of hot and sunny days, so the figs turned red and were sweet.The figs in Kawanishi were picked fully ripe in the morning. Because of this, the taste is different from the ones from other regions that are harvested the evening before.I would like you to try it.”
*
On August 16th, the Kawanishi City Specialty Products Event Executive Committee will hold a spot sale event at Pipu Plaza on the 1st floor of Aste Kawanishi from 10:00 a.m. , will be held in the same square). Approximately 900 boxes will be available for the sale. Numbered tickets will be issued from 8 a.m. (until the scheduled number of tickets has been distributed). Limited number of boxes, first come first serve, end when sold out.