TOKYO: Japan's green tea exports in the first 10 months of this year reached the highest level in over 70 years on the back of the booming overseas market for matcha powder, and the depreciation of the Japanese yen, government and industry data showed Saturday (Dec 13), Kyodo News reported.
Tea exports between January and October grew 44% from the same period last year to 10,084 tonnes.
The United States was the top destination, importing 3,497 tonnes in the 10 months, followed by Taiwan, Thailand and Germany.
Green tea exports have increased for nine consecutive years, reflecting the growing overseas popularity of Japanese food among health-conscious consumers.
Despite rising overseas sales, annual shipments remained below 10,000 tonnes after peaking at 11,553 tonnes in 1954, partly due to the growing popularity of Chinese tea.
Despite sluggish green tea demand in Japan, tea leaf prices have risen in recent years, in line with declining production.
In 2024, Japan produced about 74,000 tonnes of tea leaves, more than 10% less than a decade earlier, amid declining demand for sencha used in brewing and an ageing farming population.
According to an agricultural cooperative in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, the country's major tea leaf producer, leaves produced between October and November, typically used for bottled tea drinks, fetched over 2,500 yen (US$16) per kilogram, a sixfold increase from a year earlier. – Bernama
