null Skip to main content

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