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Japanese sake producer plans to establish plant in Bhutan

23 February 2023 By Louis Thomas

Following a diplomatic conference last year, Tsuchida Sake Brewery is reportedly interested in setting up a production plant in the remote mountain kingdom of Bhutan.

The development comes following last year’s Japan–Bhutan Food Culture Exchange Symposium, held in the Himalayan nation’s capital of Thimphu. After the conference in October 2022, which was co-organised by Tsuchida Sake Brewery and saw chief brewer Genki Hoshino presenting sake to the Bhutanese contingent in attendance, a statement from the Embassy of Japan in India (which is also accredited to Bhutan) suggested that there was a cultural basis for a sake partnership:

“In addition to rice production, Bhutan also has a culture of producing ‘chang’ or ‘chhaang’, a brewed rice liquor (like Japanese ‘Doburoku’, or unrefined sake) for private consumption in some areas, which has a strong affinity with the Japanese culture, where sake is enjoyed throughout each of the four seasons while sake and rituals are closely related. These backgrounds brought us to hold the symposium including a sake tasting session with the keywords of ‘seasonal festivals and sake’, which are common cultural elements in both Japan and Bhutan.”

But, beyond some cultural similarities, another major draw for the sake brewery to establish a plant in Bhutan is the rice cultivated in the country. In 2021, Tsuchida Sake Brewery, now under its sixth-generation owner Yuji Tsuchida, experimented with using Indica rice, which is grown in Bhutan, as opposed to the shorter-grained Japonica rice traditionally used, in an effort to develop a more distinctive style of sake.

Now, according to Asian news outlets, the brewery based in Gunma Prefecture is reportedly considering setting up a facility in the country, in what could be a major boost to diplomatic relations between the two nations. A spokesperson for the Japanese embassy said: “Japanese brewing techniques could be a hint for Bhutan, which is poor in terms of foreign currency buying power, to make a processed agricultural product aimed at other countries.”

Bhutan’s gross domestic product stands at around US$2.5 billion, ranking its GDP at around 164th in the world, though the Bhutanese government famously assesses its success in terms of GNH, or Gross National Happiness.

db has reached out to Tsuchida Sake Brewery to ascertain when and where it might establish its plant.