Officials in India have sampled Japanese food at a promotional event aimed at further boosting exports from Japan to the South Asian country.

The Japanese embassy held a trade fair in New Delhi on Thursday. About 200 people were invited to attend.

Visitors drank sake and savored various kinds of food, such as sushi. They also tried shiitake mushrooms cultivated in the southwestern prefectures of Miyazaki and Kumamoto.

One participant ate an apple grown in the northern prefecture of Aomori and said it tasted delicious. The individual went on to say that it was juicier and sweeter than an Indian apple.

Farmers officially began shipping apples from Aomori to India this month.

Food exports from Japan to India have increased every year since 2016. Japanese businesses are trying to ship even more to the nation. India's market is huge, as the country has a population of roughly 1.4 billion.

The embassy's Economic Minister Hokugo Kyoko said Japanese food has the potential to increase in popularity in India, as it is not as prevalent there as it is in Western countries.

Hokugo added that Japanese fruits and vegetables may become more popular in India because the country is home to many vegetarians.