【Reading】なかおろしぎょうしゃ

【English Name】Wholesale Intermediary

In discussing distribution at wholesale markets, the presence of nakaoroshi-gyosha (intermediate wholesalers) cannot be left out. Purchasing the goods brought in by wholesalers, sorting them by use and quantity, and delivering them to retail shops and restaurants—this series of tasks is precisely the forte of the intermediate wholesaler. The fields handled are wide-ranging, including produce, marine products, meat, and flowers, but only those licensed by the market operator are permitted to enter.

Trading methods are broadly divided into two. There is "auction trading," in which buyers compete to raise the price, and "negotiated trading," in which the price is decided through negotiation between two parties.

The weight of intermediate wholesalers is exceptional for sushi restaurants. With fresh fish, an amateur eye finds it hard to judge good or poor quality, and fine-tuned allocation to suit each shop's requests is also demanded, so an intermediate wholesaler with skilled discernment becomes a lifeline.

However, the spread of "off-market distribution," in which large-volume buyers such as supermarkets and restaurant chains procure directly from production areas, became a factor shaking the business foundation of intermediate wholesalers. As of 2005, the number of intermediate wholesalers at central wholesale markets stood at about 5,000, but during the ten years from 1994 to 2004, roughly 20% left the market.

Tokyo's wholesale markets have their origins in the early 1600s, when Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Edo shogunate. Intermediate wholesalers have been a presence that has continued to support this long history of distribution from the ground up.