TOKYO, Feb 3 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s agricultural, fishery and forestry product exports, rose 14.3 percent in 2022, from a year earlier, to a record 1.4 trillion yen (10.88 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 10th straight record-breaking year, the government said in a report today.
The government indicated that, the bumper exports in the recording period were due to dining industries in foreign countries, recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw demand rise, while the yen’s weakness added support.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, agricultural product exports comprised a record 887 billion yen (6.89 billion U.S. dollars), with fishery and forestry-related items booking their best-ever results, rising 387.3 billion yen (3.01 billion U.S. dollars) and 63.8 billion yen (496.16 million U.S. dollars), respectively.
Exports of scallops, the ministry said, were particularly strong, surging 42.4 percent from a year earlier, to 91 billion yen (707.70 million U.S. dollars), with China and the United States as major destinations.
Alcoholic beverages also posted upbeat results, with Japanese whiskey and sake exports increasing 21.5 percent to 56 billion yen (435.51 million U.S. dollars), and 18.2 percent to 47.4 billion yen (368.63 million U.S. dollars), respectively, the ministry’s data showed.
Owing to falling yields, exports of tuna and mackerel decreased in the reporting period, the ministry said, as did shipments of beef, which dropped four percent to 52 billion yen (404.45 million U.S. dollars), as rising prices hurt consumption.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, comprising 15 nations including Japan, Australia, China, Singapore and South Korea, which took effect in 2022, helped lift exports to a notable degree, the ministry also said.
Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida’s government, has set a target of the country’s agricultural and fishery exports reaching two trillion yen (15.55 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, and five trillion yen (38.88 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030.– NNN-NHK
