I'm looking for a large quantity of umeboshi (pickled plums)--a
55-gallon drum would be nice--that I can purchase cheaply. Organic
umeboshi would be best, but I'm not holding my breath. A list of
vendors with prices--including those in Japan--would be fantastic.

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 09 Sep 2004 17:44 PDT

Hello umeboshiseeker-ga,

I found several sources for umeboshi sold in quantities of 1 to 10 kg,
i.e., 2.2 to 22 lb. I didn?t find it sold packaged in larger
quantities. The prices range from $18.48 / lb to $35.35 / lb. Would
this information meet your needs? I look forward to your
clarification.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by umeboshiseeker-ga on 10 Sep 2004 09:10 PDT

Ah, thanks for trying, but I need more than that. And that price is
WAY too high (it's actually cheaper than that buying it retail in my
local store). I need at least 50 kg, preferably more than 100. As I
said before, a 55-gallon drum of them would be ideal. I think the only
place to get this stuff in quantity is in Japan, so Japanese-language
search skills are needed, I think.....

I did some Japanese-language searches for umeboshi, but much like
czh-ga, I could not find any online stores that offer packs of
umeboshi of more than 10kg. For larger barrels, I suspect you'll need
to deal directly with a wholesaler or restaurant supply company, and
I'm afraid that that's a bit beyond my Japanese search skills.

I'll pass on the best umeboshi deal I was able to find so far, in case
it'll be helpful for another researcher. This place offers several
10kg packs of umeboshi, starting at about 10000 yen (for "C quality"
umeboshi) and going all the way up to a little more than 15000 yen
(for "A quality" umeboshi). At slightly more affordable prices,
they've got 10kg of "mild Chinese umeboshi" for around 5000 yen, and
"crushed old-style umeboshi" for around 6000.
Fukami Ume-ten:
http://www.fukami.co.jp/okaidoku.html

Their checkout page doesn't have any support for overseas orders, but
perhaps they might be willing to set something up via email or phone.

Thanks vorfeed. 10kg is better than nothing, but I'm really looking
for quantity here, i.e. a 55-gallon drum of the stuff (or more). I
suspect you are correct in thinking that a Japanese wholesaler could
help me, but I too can't find any, hence my question in this forum.
But thanks for trying!

(and btw, I've changed my username from umeboshiseeker to breakaway;
sorry for any confusion)