TOKYO, Feb. 10 — Japan’s agricultural exports broke the 800 billion yen barrier last year for the first time, as washoku or traditional Japanese food is riding a wave of global popularity.
The exports of products such as agri-food, meat and seafood rose 8% to 807.3 billion yen in 2017 from the year earlier, preliminary data from the agriculture ministry showed.
They grew for a fifth consecutive year, but at a slower pace than the government hoped for.
Japan has set a target of 1 trillion yen in agricultural exports by 2020, as domestic consumption has continued sliding. It needs a 10% annual growth rate in the next two years, if it wants to reach the target.
The leading exports were Japanese wagyu beef, green tea and strawberries.
Wagyu beef exports rose 41% to 19.2 billion yen due to Taiwan lifting its 16-year import ban. Rice exports also tripled in the last five years thanks to a global boom in Japanese cuisine.
On the other hand, apples exports fell 18% to 10.9 billion yen as fruit production suffered due to bad weather.
The top three destinations of Japanese agricultural exports were Hong Kong, the United States and China.