Market Data
Import of tea into Japan
Japan's Green Tea Import
Let's look into the green tea imported into Japan.
Japan actually does a fair bit of importing, although the trends have decreased recently. 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 import of tea has been quite volatile from the late 1990s until it stabilizes at roughly 4,000 tons from 2013.
In the early 2000s, there was a huge increase in green tea demand as green tea-based bottled drinks became hugely popular. You can see the import volume spiking up twice in 2001 and 2004, both exceeding 15 thousand tons of tea imports.
As the usage of Japanese domestic tea for these bottled drinks gradually increased, the import of foreign tea has decreased.
Where does Japan Import from?
Most of the tea imported to Japan is from China. Consider the following data:
An incredible 84% of green tea imported into Japan is from China.
This is followed by Vietnam accounting for 6%, and also Australia accounting for another 6%.
The other countries include Taiwan and Myanmar, but holds a very small overall share.
When looking at the import of tea into Japan from China, there is another interesting change happening. Let's look at the cost of Green Tea imported from China into Japan.
Cost of Green Tea imported from China to Japan (Yen/kg)
The price that starts from 245 yen/kg in 2009 shows a sharp increase starting from 2013 until it somewhat stabilizes around 570 yen/kg from 2015 onwards. This is about a 100% increase in prices in a 3-year time span.
You can compare this against the graph of the total import volume, and the price increases coincide with the reduction in tea imports.
This indicates that the import of low-cost green tea used for bottled drinks has reduced, causing the overall average prices for imported green tea to increase.
Ref: 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 |