London (Jiji Press)—Harrods, a luxury department store in London, started selling peaches grown in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Saturday.
A tasting event was held to introduce the deliciousness of sweet and juicy peaches.
It is the first time for Fukushima peaches to be sold in a retail store in Britain. Three peaches in a gift box sells for £80.
The sale is part of a campaign by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to promote food from Fukushima, an effort to help the prefecture recover from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.
The Fukushima Prefectural Association in London and the Japan External Trade Organization cooperated in the sale.
Fukushima is the second-largest producer of peaches in Japan with a share of 26 pct following Yamanashi Prefecture, according to statistics from Japan’s agriculture ministry.
Peach producers in Fukushima have been struggling with reputational damage since the meltdown at TEPCO’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. They hope that the campaign in Britain will help increase sales of Fukushima peaches and improve their brand image.