Market Data
Export of Japanese Tea (2021)
Japan's Green Tea Export
Let's look into the data regarding the export of Japanese green tea from Japan.
For Japan, exporting of Japanese green tea has been one of their main strategies. The results have been gradually showing as well.
Consider the following chart. This is Japan's Green Tea import and export volume in tons.
Japan's Green Tea Import and Export Volume (t)
As you can see from the data, the export of green tea has shown an incredibly steady increase.
What was only 305 tons of tea exported in 1993 has hit the 1,000 tons mark in 2005. By 2015 it has exceeded the 4,000 ton mark by hitting 4,127 tons. In 2019 It has marked 5,108 tons of green tea export.
This is an incredible increase, with a CAGR of roughly 19% from 2013 to 2019!
The increase is mainly driven by increased demand in the US and other countries. High interest in Japanese food due to its healthy nature has been one of the triggers, especially for the increase of nearly 300% these past 10 years.
The highest importer of Japanese tea is by far the United States.
Where is Japanese Tea imported to? (2020)
Based on the export actuals for 2020, roughly half of Japanese tea is exported to the United States at 51.5%. The United States continues to be the most important market for Japanese tea.
This is then followed by a fellow tea producing Asian country in Taiwan at 9.9%, and then a European country in Germany at 6.9%.
We find Singapore at the 4th spot at 5%. Obviously this is an area Tealife is hoping to help! This is then followed by Canada (4%), Hong Kong (4%), Thai (3%), and Malaysia (2%).
You can see that actually, many Asian countries are in the top ranks.
Ref: Production, Export, and Import of Green Tea in Japan
Table: By the numbers. Production, Export, and Import of green tea in Japan.
Year (Japanese Era) | Domestic Production (t) | Import volume | Export volume | Domestic Consumption (g) | Per Population Consumption (t) |
1965 (S40) |
75,874 |
920 |
4,653 |
72,141 |
727 |
1970 (S45) |
90,944 |
9,063 |
1,531 |
98,476 |
941 |
1975 (S50) |
105,446 |
8,860 |
2,198 |
112,108 |
1,002 |
1980 (S55) |
102,300 |
4,396 |
2,669 |
104,027 |
889 |
1985 (S60) |
95,500 |
2,215 |
1,762 |
95,953 |
793 |
1989 (H1) |
90,500 |
2,854 |
635 |
92,719 |
752 |
1993 (H5) |
92,100 |
5,481 |
305 |
97,276 |
780 |
1998 (H10) |
82,600 |
6,399 |
652 |
88,347 |
698 |
1999 (H11) |
88,500 |
12,047 |
755 |
99,792 |
788 |
2000 (H12) |
89,300 |
14,328 |
684 |
102,944 |
811 |
2001 (H13) |
89,800 |
17,739 |
599 |
106,940 |
840 |
2002 (H14) |
84,200 |
11,790 |
762 |
95,228 |
747 |
2003 (H15) |
91,900 |
10,242 |
760 |
101,382 |
794 |
2004 (H16) |
100,700 |
16,995 |
872 |
116,823 |
915 |
2005 (H17) |
100,000 |
15,187 |
1,096 |
114,091 |
893 |
2006 (H18) |
91,800 |
11,254 |
1,576 |
101,478 |
795 |
2007 (H19) |
94,100 |
9,591 |
1,625 |
102,066 |
799 |
2008 (H20) |
95,500 |
7,326 |
1,701 |
101,125 |
792 |
2009 (H21) |
86,000 |
5,863 |
1,958 |
89,905 |
705 |
2010 (H22) |
85,000 |
5,906 |
2,232 |
88,674 |
692 |
2011 (H23) |
84,100 |
5,393 |
2,387 |
87,106 |
682 |
2012 (H24) |
88,000 |
5,473 |
2,351 |
91,122 |
715 |
2013 (H25) |
84,800 |
4,875 |
2,942 |
86,733 |
681 |
2014 (H26) |
83,500 |
4,180 |
3,516 |
84,164 |
662 |
2015 (H27) |
79,500 |
3,473 |
4,127 |
78,846 |
620 |
2016 (H28) |
80,200 |
3,618 |
4,108 |
79,710 |
628 |
2017 (H29) |
82,000 |
3,970 |
4,642 |
81,328 |
642 |
2018 (H30) |
86,300 |
4,730 |
5,102 |
85,928 |
680 |
2019 (H31) |
81,700 |
4,390 |
5,108 |
80,982 |
642 |