According to the reports from Sankei Biz, using the LEDs as light source for cultivating vegetables becomes a great commercial opportunity in Japan. The real estate industry, household appliances industry and construction industry are all take their own advantages to occupy the market share.
Asahi Kasei Homes, a large-scale developer in Japan, intend to bring the device housing cultivation of vegetables to the market next year at the earliest. Another big builders Obayashi, is also preparing to enter the business areas engaged in agricultural production, and Nishimatsu Construction Corporation also plans to increase the production capacity of lettuce class five times.
Asahi Kasei Homes Inc. is conducting experiments of growing vegetables under the LED lights (LED vegetables garden) on a residential building in the Fuji City, Shizuoka. Panasonic working with Mitsui are doing experiments in the United Chiba Kashiwa, and plan to market white household appliances for the family "LED vegetable garden". Obayashi currently working with Chiba University, intend to formally enter agriculture next year by "LED vegetable garden".
The "LED vegetable garden" related commodities have been able to seen at appliance supermarkets in Japan. According to reports, the Yamazen last December began selling LED vegetable garden product "family vegetable", about 9980 yen. Nishimatsu Construction and Tamagawa University last year jointly launched "LED vegetable garden" project, plans to increase the lettuce vegetable production from the current 600 per day up to 3000 per day.
Based on surveys from Fuji Economy, the size of plant factory using artificial light in Japan is expected to reach 19,000 square meters in 2020, which will be 3.7 times of that in 2011.
However, from the report of Yano Economic Research Institute, the introduction costs and operating costs of plant factory as well as cultivation techniques, etc., will be able to the stumbling block during the process of expanding the market.
