TOKYO, Oct. 14 ― Japan’s exports of apples in 2017 climbed 20 percent in volume year over year, representing the second-largest on record, as traders have been trying to reach new markets such as Southeast Asia.
Fresh apple exports from September 2017 to August 2018 reached 33,150 metric tons, but not as much as the 36,304 metric tons achieved in the record year 2015, according to data from the finance ministry.
Apples, in fact, have become a star on the Japanese fresh fruit exporting stage, as Taiwanese and Chinese consumers have enjoyed the big-size fruit as the Lunar New Year’s gifts.
The increases slowed only when Japan had a short crop due to extreme weather in 2016.
Apple exports recovered in 2017, as the small-size fruit is gaining new fan in Southeast Asia.
Trade data shows apple shipments to Indonesia nearly quadrupled in 2017 over the year before, and those to Thailand tripled. Exports to Vietnam also surged 83 percent during the same period.
Exports to Taiwan, the largest export destination for Japanese apples, totaled 23,519 metric tons in 2017, up 16% from a year earlier.