CBH Grower Study Tour kicks off with visit to Sanwa Shurui to see how their barley is used

WA graingrowers had the chance to drink in not only Japan’s beautiful scenery, but one of the tasty end products of their hard work at this year’s 2024 CBH Group Grower Study Tour. On September 9, the first day of the annual trip, CBH staff and just under 40 graingrowers visited the headquarters of Sanwa Shurui, a company that produces distilled spirits such as sake, wine and shochu. Sanwa Shurui is based in Yamamoto, near Usa City, and is one of many Japanese businesses to use raw products from WA. The company’s headquarters is nestled among mountainous terrain, a location said to be chosen because of the area’s abundance of fresh water, a natural resource important for the creation of Sanwa Shurui’s distilled liquor. On average, Australia exports 120, 000 metric tonnes of barley to Japan to make beer, barley tea, miso, and of course, shochu. While at Sanwa Shurui, growers got to see how the company’s shochu was made, prepared and packaged, and also got to sample some of the product. Wyalkatchem graingrower Amanda Jones said it was interesting to see how the barley was processed and prepared, and to be able to taste the end product. She said it was also great to see the enthusiasm from Sanwa Shurui staff to have a close relationship with CBH and its growers. “It’s just so lovely to see how appreciative they are of our product,” she said. Arthur River farmer Sam Burgess said it was “fantastic” to see where WA growers’ products ended up, and it was even more important to see just how much the fruit of their labour is enjoyed by customers. “We work so hard when producing this stuff, we don’t really sit back and go ‘who actually gets to enjoy our end product?’ We go to all this effort to grow something, and you miss it,” he said. “So when you come here and actually see the other side, and actually see people enjoying the product and really appreciate what we do … that’s huge.” The attending graingrowers also visited the Hyogo Handmade Somen-Cooperative, Nisshi OilliO Group’s processing mill in Isogo and the Zen-Noh and Kumiai Feed Ota Mill. The growers even had the chance to meet representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to hear an update on Australia and Japan’s business relationship. Full coverage on the trip, including a comprehensive breakdown of the visit to Sanwa Shurui, can be read in the next edition of the Countryman. Olivia Ford attended the tour as a guest of the CBH Group.