Wismettac Foods Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based food trading house Nishimoto Co. recently entered an agreement to produce Kimito apples in South Africa, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

The venture aims to generate royalty fees for the university based on its intellectual property rights. Additionally, the project is expected to help secure year-round availability for the variety.

Wismettac will be adopting a “club variety” system, which ensures the intellectual property rights over a plant variety remain protected. Members of the club are then entitled to receive licenses to produce and market the variety.

The Kimito apple was developed by Hirosaki University breedings in Aomori, the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu. Aomori is famed for its apples, producing over 50% of Japan’s total apple volume.

Kimito has been a registered variety in Japan since 2016 and is well-known for its extended shelf-life. The apple presents a yellow skin, with white flesh and a sweet taste.

“With the seasons being the opposite to what they are in Japan, apples from South Africa could be marketed in the off-crop season, when shipments from Japan drop,” Takahiro Masuda of Wismettac Foods said.

Wismettac Foods is slated to partner with a South Africa-based business to register the crop and a related trademark in the coming months. Trial plantings are set to begin shortly after.