Browse Data and Analysis

Japan's fresh vegetable market is estimated at approximately 14 million metric tons of which around 5 percent comes from imports. In 2023, the United States was the fourth largest supplier of fresh vegetables to Japan at $52 million and the second largest by volume at 46,309 metric tons.

In relation to persistent rising food prices, Japan has seen a decline in overall vegetable oil consumption. Due to the more favorable crush margin for canola compared to soybeans, FAS/Tokyo forecasts a reduction in soybean imports and crush, while seeing an increase in rapeseed imports and crush for both MY 2023/24 and MY 2024/25.

This report highlights Japan’s food processing industry, notable trends, and a market snapshot of western Japan. The industry experienced a 4.1 percent decline in the value of food produced in 2023 from 2022 on a dollar basis totaling $182 billion compared to $190 billion in 2022.

The total value of all retail food and beverage (F&B) sales was 52.2 trillion yen or $474.9 billion dollars.

Japan is the fourth largest export market for U.S. exporters of food and agricultural products.

Japan’s hotel, restaurant and institutional food service industry (HRI) achieved record high sales of ¥32.42 trillion ($295.2 billion) in 2016.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries approved 70 European Union (EU)-proposed geographical indications for agricultural items on December 15, 2017.

Although Japanese production and consumption of citrus has been in decline for decades, market year (MY) 2016/17 marked a small increase from the previous MY.

Japan is likely to finalize a determination in January, 2018, that will allow the use of U.S. corn-based ethanol in the production of bio-Ethyl Tert-Butyl Ether (ETBE) from 2018.

This report provides the latest status of consumption, regulation, public perception, research, development, production, and use of genetically engineered crops and animals in Japan.

U.S. farm and food exports climbed eight percent in FY 2017, reaching the third-highest level on record.

The agreement in principle between Japan and the European Union (EU) on a free trade deal in July, 2017, and a potential Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) arrangement, could leave U.S. pork....