Sumitomo

Sumitomo Corp. agreed to buy Dublin-based Fyffes Plc for €751 million ($798 million) in cash, expanding the company’s reach in the global fruit market and sending the Irish producer’s shares soaring.

NPA launched the actions against the Sumitomo subsidiary because of its land grabbing and the destructive operations of its pineapple and banana plantations.

Philippine communist rebels on Tuesday accused a Japanese subsidiary of grabbing lands from local farmers in Mindanao.

Japanese food corporations are stepping up their diversification and security of food sources, in particular taking ownership of the entire supply chain, from owning the farms in other countries, through to the processing and distribution of the food stuffs.

Goldman Sachs recently invested US$300 million to acquired full control of more than 10 poultry farms in China.

Three Japanese firms, including two on the Fortune magazine's world top 500 list, have jointly leased 100 hectares of farmland in east China's Shandong Province, to become the first foreign investors in China's farming industry.

From the California wine country to the Florida citrus groves and Montana ranches, a wave of Japanese investment is sweeping through American agriculture and food processing.