The export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food from January to October this year was 1.1218 trillion yen, surpassing last year's fastest pace to reach 1 trillion yen.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food from January to October this year was 1.1218 trillion yen, an increase of 15.3% compared to the same period last year.
Last year, the total export value exceeded 1 trillion yen until November, and this is the first time that it will exceed 1 trillion yen by October.
Due to the recent depreciation of the yen, Japanese agricultural products are becoming cheaper in overseas markets, and the recovery in demand for eating out, mainly in Europe and the United States, is boosting the value of exports.
If it continues to grow at this pace, it will exceed the total export value of 1,238.2 billion yen last year, and the focus is on how far we can increase it by capturing demand such as the Christmas sales season.
Hyogo sake brewery finds a way to export overseas
Tanaka Sake Brewery, located in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, has been in business for 187 years and produces sake using sake rice harvested in the prefecture and local water.
With domestic consumption of sake declining, we started exporting to China about 10 years ago, and since 3 years ago we have been actively working on exporting overseas, such as holding a business meeting in France in cooperation with Hyogo Prefecture. I'm in.
In early last month, the president of the company visited Paris, France, etc., and told local sommeliers and chefs about the delicate taste of sake and its compatibility with French cuisine.
As a result of these efforts, the total export volume of this year has increased to 7500 liters, more than 50 times that of about 10 years ago.
President Yasuhiro Tanaka said, "We are very grateful that exports are growing while domestic consumption has fallen due to the impact of the new coronavirus. We are shipping regularly to maintain quality, and in the future, we will increase the amount of exports and countries. We want to increase it gradually,” he said.
About the background [details in QA]
We asked Tatsuya Ishida, Executive Director of JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), about the background of growing exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and foods.
Q. What is behind the record-breaking pace of growth?
A. The yen has weakened compared to a year ago, but the biggest thing is that the way people overseas deal with COVID-19 has changed. The background is that the service industry and the food service industry are growing accordingly.
On the other hand, in order to increase exports, it is necessary to find overseas partners and provide products in accordance with the regulations of each country, and it takes a certain amount of time to actually export.
In that sense, it can be said that the efforts made by Japanese producers and businesses before the spread of COVID-19 and the depreciation of the yen have finally led to results.
Q. What are the advantages of exporting?
A. I think that if foreign tourists who come to Japan spread information about Japanese foods on SNS, etc., it will circulate in a good way and lead to exports.
Inbound is also on a recovery trend, and I think this year will be a good year to think about new export business.
I would like producers and businesses to work on further expanding regions and products.
Q. What is your outlook for the future?
A. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the situation continues to grow, and I think it will probably continue to grow next year as well.
Depending on the country, there are also efforts to grow crops on the premise of export from the beginning by raising the country or raising the region.
Japan is a small agricultural country, not a large agricultural country in the world, so it is important to raise the unit price of products with higher added value and increase exports of each item.