TOKYO: Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rise 10.9% to a record high in the first half of 2026.
This was driven by solid demand for beef, apples, rice, green tea, mixed sauce and yellowtail, according to the agriculture ministry.
Exports totalled 897.7 billion yen (US$5.7bil) from January to June, up from 809.7 billion yen a year earlier, marking a record for the first half for the second consecutive year, according to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.
Exports to the United States, Japan’s largest market, rose 15.3% to 162.6 billion yen, while shipments to all of the top 10 export destinations increased from a year earlier, including China, despite its continued partial ban on Japanese seafood imports.
Among individual products, green tea exports jumped 83.5% from a year earlier, driven by the matcha boom, while yellowtail exports surged 69.0%, with both reaching record highs.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry attributed the growth to rising global interest in Japanese cuisine, greater awareness of Japanese food and products fuelled by inbound tourism and rising health consciousness.
It also cited expanded sales through existing distribution channels and the development of new export markets.
Japan has sought to diversify seafood export markets, particularly across Asia and in the United States, more so since China imposed an import ban in August 2023.
This came about after Tokyo began releasing treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
China partially lifted the ban in June 2025, but continues to restrict imports of seafood from 10 prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo.
Japan aims to raise annual exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to five trillion yen by 2030, from 1.7 trillion yen in 2025.
Kazuyoshi Nakasugi, deputy director of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry’s export policy planning division, said the government would expand distribution through local supermarkets and restaurants, diversify export destinations and strengthen domestic production capacity to meet overseas demand. — Reuters
