Browse Data and Analysis

In 2021, the total value of all retail food and beverage (F&B) sales in Japan totaled $467.20 billion, a 2.3 percent decrease over 2020 sales of $478.12 billion. Supermarkets continue to represent the bulk of the retail food market, accounting for 74 percent of the market, with convenience stores, drugstores and internet sales of food and beverages accounting for the rest of the market.

A Tableau visualization comparing exports to the current top U.S. agricultural export markets since 1989.

The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA), which entered into force on January 1, 2020, improved market access for U.S. products through the creation of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for food wheat, wheat products, malt, processed cheese, whey, glucose and fructose, potato starch, corn starch, and inulin. In JFY 2021, allocation and fill rates of the TRQs continued to remain low.

Post forecasts consumption of cotton in the Malaysian textile industry at 290,000 bales in marketing year (MY) 2022/23, a 3.3 percent drop from the previous year post’s estimate. The expected reduction is based on textile companies shifting their operation to other South-East Asian countries as the cost of labor increased in Malaysia with the revision of new minimum wages on April 1, 2022.

Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) will add walnuts to list of allergens that product manufacturers and importers must include on the label of packaged products containing walnuts. Currently, CAA strongly recommends including walnuts on the label, but does not require their inclusion.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) proposed revisions to Japan’s maximum residue levels for 9 agricultural chemicals (Etofenprox, Fenpyroximate, Florasulam, Fluensulfone, Tetraconazole, Cloxacillin, 1,2-Dichlorobenzene, Didecyldimethylammonium chloride, and Nicarbazin) for various agricultural commodities.

Effective June 1, 2022, Malaysia intends to ban export of poultry products to ensure sufficient domestic supply. This is the latest in a series of measures taken to try to combat rising food prices in the country.