Japan: Demand for household consumption evident during early COVID-19 environment

This report highlights notable household consumption for meat products among Japanese consumers and the strong preference for home-meals during the global pandemic. Recent data released from The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced the breakdown of meat consumption (by setting and use) in 2020. While the percentage of household consumption increased for all livestock species such as beef, pork, and chicken, the percentage of meat consumption in restaurants and other food service establishments decreased across the board. This report confirms how the early COVID-19 environment had an impact on the hotel, restaurant and institutional sector with consumers shifting to increased retail purchases of meat products for household consumption.