Mito City, the city of natto Last year's purchase amount of natto ranked 4th in Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications household budget survey

In a household survey conducted last year, Mito City, known as the city of natto, ranked 4th in the nation for the amount of natto purchased per household, lower than the 3rd place a year ago.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' household budget survey announced on the 7th, the amount of natto purchased per household in Mito City last year was 5,961 yen, ranking fourth nationwide.

Compared to the previous year when it was in 3rd place, it was down one place and the purchase price was 80 yen less.

Mito City, which is known as the city of natto, has been focusing on PR with industry groups since it fell from the top place in terms of purchase amount in 2017, but it was not able to regain the top spot this time.

Regarding the decrease in the purchase amount from the previous year, Mito City said, ``It may be because the new corona's movement restrictions have been lifted, and the opportunities to eat out have increased and the amount of meals at home has decreased.''

Tomoharu Takano, head of the Mito Branch of the Ibaraki Prefecture Natto Commerce and Industry Cooperative Association, said, "It's very disappointing that the ranking has dropped. I want to aim for the top," he said.

Ordinance enacted to expand consumption of natto

In order to increase the consumption of natto, the city of Mito enacted an ordinance in June last year to make July 10th a pun on "Natto Day", a unique anniversary of Mito City.

The ordinance stipulates that Mito City should disseminate information, manufacturers should work together to improve quality, and that they should work together to increase the consumption of natto.

In addition, we have started recruiting logo marks from this month in order to make Mito City more impressive as "the city of natto."

Despite these efforts, Mayor Yasushi Takahashi of Mito City said, "We could not regain the first place, but we would like to thank the people who have cooperated with us. We will continue to do so." , I would like to actively promote Mito, the city of natto, both inside and outside the city.”