Noodle lovers in Japan know exactly what they want when it comes to udon. The perfect udon noodles should have a mouthfeel known as ‘mochi mochi’ – a unique balance of softness and firmness, combined with good elasticity and a slight stickiness. Appearance is also crucial; udon noodles must have a bright and creamy very slightly yellow colour, with good colour stability – i.e. they stay looking good for longer. Japanese flour millers know that the best wheat for udon is grown in Western Australia.
For almost 35 years, Japan has exclusively imported noodle wheat from WA that has been bred especially for udon. WA supplies about 750,000t of a special noodle wheat blend to Japan at a value of around $300 million annually. AEGIC is Australia’s market-facing agency for the Japanese noodle market, in collaboration with the Grain Industry Association of WA’s Wheat Council. For over 10 years, AEGIC has been central to supporting this market through sensory assessment of new varieties, as well as providing technical support, season update videos and resources to address seasonal issues. Korea is the only other market that currently imports noodle wheat from WA.
The Japanese noodle wheat market is uniquely stable in both volume and value. The value to growers of producing udon noodle wheat, compared with other classes, is approx. $16.6 per hectare – a 34% boost to growers’ profit. Put another way – Western Australia’s noodle wheat classes add an estimated $35-$70m in extra revenue each year for growers. A similar market exists in Korea.
The Japanese market is particularly important. The ongoing success of the relationship between WA and Japan is mutually beneficial and each partner is prepared to invest resources to ensure its success. The entire supply chain, from the farmer in WA to the consumer in Japan, benefits from this investment.
In collaboration with Grains Australia and the WA industry, AEGIC leads technical support and engagement with the Japanese industry.
Team Australia: market support for Japan and Korea – 2025
An AEGIC-led delegation travelled to Tokyo in June for the annual AEGIC wheat quality technical seminar for the Japanese market.
This year, the seminar was hosted at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and was attended by representatives from across the flour milling and noodle sectors in Japan.
AEGIC coordinated a strong “Team Australia” presence, collaborating with Grains Australia, InterGrain, Australian Grain Technologies, and Grain Trade Australia.
The long-standing relationship with our customers in Japan is a reminder of AEGIC’s valued contributions over many years, in collaboration with our partners. The unique relationship between Japan and Australia’s udon industry is based on openness and trust in our insights, engagement, education and science.
In collaboration with Grains Australia and the WA industry, AEGIC leads technical support and engagement with the Japanese industry.
In 2024-25, total Australian wheat exports to Japan were worth $545 million.
While in Tokyo, we collaborated with the Japan Flour Millers Association (JFMA) to conduct udon sensory evaluation to support our Udon texture requirements project, supported by Grains Australia.
We also conducted initial discussions to seek collaboration and involvement in our new Grains Australia-supported project. Wheat quality market intelligence: North Asia.
Above right: AEGIC EGM Courtney Draper and AEGIC Acting General Manager – Education and Training Dr Larisa Cato
South Korea seminar 2025
Following the 2025 Japan seminar, the AEGIC team travelled to Seoul to deliver the last of AEGIC’s wheat quality seminars for 2025.
South Korea is another important market for ANW. The Korean noodle wheat blend is different to Japan’s and is used for other types of noodles as well as udon. In 2024-25, total Australian wheat exports to South Korea were worth $528 million.
The Seoul seminar was well attended – participants enjoyed having the opportunity to compare the colour of noodle sheets made from different types of wheat.
We also conducted initial discussions with leading flour milling companies to seek collaboration in our Wheat quality market intelligence: North Asia project, supported by Grains Australia.
Japanese udon delegation in Perth 2025
The Western Australian udon noodle wheat industry hosted colleagues from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) and the Japan Flour Millers Association (JFMA) during January 2025.
Each year, representatives from MAFF and JFMA travel to Western Australia to receive up-to-the-minute insights on the quality and supply of that year’s udon wheat crop.
AEGIC is Australia’s market-facing agency for the Japanese noodle market, collaborating with the Grain Industry Association of WA’s Wheat Council, CBH, and breeding companies such as InterGrain and AGT.
Every harvest season, AEGIC’s labs are a hive of activity as samples are received, milled and tested to compile the latest data.
Based on these insights, the Japanese industry will decide on the optimal blend and quality specifications for the coming year to ensure that Japan receives the best quality wheat.
During the visit, we re-affirmed that AEGIC’s sensory evaluation proficiency closely matches that of the Japanese experts. Udon sensory evaluation (mouthfeel and appearance) is a crucial tool for making sure Australian wheat meets Japanese requirements.
Welcoming Mitsui and Hanamaru
In December 2024, representatives from major Japanese trading company Mitsui and udon restaurant chain Hanamaru visited Perth to get the latest updates on all things udon.
With harvest in full swing, the Japanese delegation visit was eager for current insights on Australian udon wheat quality and supply, as well as the outlook for new varieties under development.
No Japanese delegation visit is complete without udon noodle sensory evaluation, and the visitors provided useful feedback on current udon noodle wheat varieties being grown in WA.
The delegation was hosted by AEGIC, along with GIWA’s Wheat Council, InterGrain and Australian Grain Technologies. Mitsui is one of Japan’s largest trading companies, and Hanamaru is a leading Japanese udon noodle restaurant chain.
AEGIC leads 2024 Japan noodle wheat delegation
AEGIC’s annual delegation to Japan sparked positive discussions between the WA noodle wheat sector and the Japanese udon industry, with both partners committing to continued technical exchange and collaboration.
The visit was supported by leading Australian noodle wheat breeding companies InterGrain and Australian Grain Technologies (AGT), which recently released new varieties: Splendid (InterGrain) and Rottnest (AGT).
The delegation met with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Japan Flour Milling Association (JFMA), and Japan’s top flour milling companies, to share seasonal information, provide industry updates, and discuss the expected performance and uptake of recently released udon wheat varieties.
The delegation was part of AEGIC’s ongoing technical exchange with and support for Japan’s udon industry, in collaboration with Grains Australia, breeding companies and the broader industry. Discussions were positive, focusing on maintaining the quality and supply of Australian udon noodle wheat.
AEGIC and JFMA are committed to continue working together to conduct udon sensory evaluation to build more evidence on the ideal colour requirements for udon. This information will assist Grains Australia’s Wheat Council and Wheat Variety Classification Panel when making decisions regarding classification of wheat varieties.
AEGIC and JFMA have each committed investment and resources into the technical exchange program – also known as the JFMA visiting noodle expert program – managed by AEGIC on behalf of the Australian industry. The program provides a great platform for capacity building on both sides and supports the development of new ANW and APWN lines and the classification process managed by Grains Australia.
The next JFMA visiting noodle expert is expected in 2025. AEGIC will conduct further visits and technical seminars in Japan in 2025.
The group also enjoyed an informative visit to Hanamaru Udon’s processing plant in Chiba. Hanamaru Udon is one of Japan’s leading udon restaurant chains with stringent quality requirements, including using wheat from Western Australia.
2023 sensory program
In December 2023, we hosted a visiting udon expert from the Japan Flour Millers Association (JFMA) as part of the official udon sensory evaluation program. The evaluation involves blind sensory testing (mouthfeel, appearance, taste) of unreleased wheat varieties to help with classification and to ensure our wheat meets Japanese requirements.
2023 Japan delegation
Earlier in 2023, we travelled to Japan with breeding company InterGrain to evaluate incoming Australian Noodle Wheat (ANW) lines with flour millers. In Tokyo, we hosted joint sensory evaluation with the JFMA and put a brand-new ANW variety developed by InterGrain to the ultimate test. The work conducted by AEGIC in this field is highly respected, and our independence was recognised by JFMA as critically important.
As announced by InterGrain, we can now reveal that the new variety is named Firefly and is expected to become a major ANW variety popular with growers. AEGIC supported InterGrain with independent quality and sensory testing of the new variety as it was developed.
Korea is another important market for ANW. The Korean noodle wheat blend is different to Japan’s and is used for other types of noodles as well as udon. We travelled with InterGrain to work with Korean millers to benchmark several varieties for their suitability for Korean white salted style noodles.
Some great insights were gathered for potential improvement to the Korean noodle wheat blend.