JETRO AGROTRADE HANDBOOK 2007
Imports of agricultural products can be largely classified into 3 sections, (1) farm
products (which account for three-quarters of total imports of agricultural products), (2)
livestock products (a quarter of the same total) and (3) silk threads.
Contents
Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Trade in 2006
1. Overview......................................................................................................... 1
2. Exports ........................................................................................................... 2
(1) Overview
(2) Exports by Sector
(3) Exports by Destination Country/Area
(4) Major Export Items
3. Imports............................................................................................................ 9
(1) Overview
(2) Imports by Sector
(3) Imports by Supplier Country/Area
(4) Major Import Items
Table Contents
Table 1: Exports / Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products (in dollar terms) ....2
Table 2: Exports / Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products (in yen terms) .......2
Table 3: Exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products .............................................3
Table 4: Exports of agricultural products ................................................................................4
Table 5: Exports of fisheries products ....................................................................................5
Table 6: Exports of forestry products......................................................................................5
Table 7: Exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(by destination country/area) ...................................................................................6
Table 8: Major export items ....................................................................................................8
Table 9-1: Export items increase/decrease (based on value) ................................................9
Table 9-2: Export items increase/decrease (based on quantity) ............................................9
Table 10: Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products .........................................10
Table 11: Imports of agricultural products............................................................................. 11
Table 12: Imports of agriculutural products .......................................12
Table 13: Imports of fisheries products.................................................................................13
Table 14: Imports of fisheries products .............................................13
Table 15: Imports of forestry products ..................................................................................14
Table 16: Imports of forestry products ...............................................14
Table 17: Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products ......15
Table 18 : Major import items ...............................................................................................16
Table 19-1: Import items increase/decrease (based on value).............................................18
Table 19-2: Import items increase/decrease (based on quantity).........................................18
Explanatory Notes
• Since April 1996, Japanese trade statistics have been issued on a yen basis only, so the
dollar conversion rate and dollar-based trade values were calculated by JETRO based on
the official rate announced by the customs director.
• Unit abbreviations in the general statement and statistics indicate the following.
NO ........... Number of items TH............ Thousands
KG ........... Kilograms
Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Trade in 2006
1. Overview
In 2006, Japan’s trade (in dollar terms) consisted of exports totaling $647.29
billion (up 8.2% y/y) and imports amounting to $579.29 billion (up 11.7% y/y), both far
exceeding the record all-time highs of the previous year. The trade surplus in 2006
declined for two straight years.
Exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products in 2006 totaled $3.87
billion (up 6.2% y/y), or ¥449.7 billion (up 12.2% y/y), with their ratio to Japan’s total
exports (in dollar terms) declining to 0.60% from 0.61% in 2005.
Imports of agriculture, forestry and fisheries amounted to $67.86 billion (down
0.6% y/y), or ¥7.89 trillion (up 5.4% y/y), with their share of total imports (in dollar
terms) declining to 11.7% from 13.2% in 2005.
Japan’s trade in agricultural, forestry and fisheries products continued to be in
large structural deficit as Japan is significantly dependent on acquiring agriculture,
forestry and fisheries products from overseas. However, a recent increase in export of
agriculture, forestry and fisheries products slightly improved trade imbalance in this field
from a 1:20 ratio of exports to imports (in dollar terms, the same applies to the following
figures) in 2004 to 1:19 in 2005, and 1:18 in 2006.
The background of such an increase in exports lies in the aggressive stance of
producers and municipalities throughout the nation targeting at an increased popularity of
Japanese food overseas and increased demand for Japan’s food products caused by a
general increase in income in other countries.
The popularity of Japanese food is becoming increasingly established in the U.S.
and same popularity is growing more than ever in England and France. Even for wealthy
Chinese people including overseas Chinese and the rich in Russia, Japanese food is
becoming popular for its delicious taste and healthiness.
With this positive tail wind, in March 2005, the former Koizumi administration
decided, as a cabinet decision, to formulate a basic plan for foods, agriculture and
farming villages. In this plan, the “Doubling of exports for agricultural, forestry and
fisheries products” was set in motion in which exports amounting ¥300 billion in 2004
would double over a five year period finishing in 2009. The Abe administration took over
the plan and accelerated it to aim at ¥1 trillion by 2013.
In May 2007, the “Comprehensive Export Strategy for Japan’s Agricultural,
Forestry, Fisheries and General Food Products” was agreed at the general meeting of the
National Committee for Export Promotion of Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries
Products (Established in April 2005), which consisted of government officials and private
1
companies’ managers. The strategy included the improvement of the export environment
through negotiations with the destination countries into the acceleration of the quarantine
procedures and introduction of GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) methodology at the
production stage, strategic export promotion through the encouragement of an intellectual
property strategy and brand strategy by item type and spreading international awareness
of Japanese food and food culture, showing that we are entering into a stage where
Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and general foods will be vigorously
promoted.
Table 1: Exports / Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(in dollar terms)
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Japan's total trade Agricultural, forestry and fisheries products trade
2004 2005 2006(A) Y/Y 2004 2005 2006(B) Y/Y (B)/(A)×100
Exports 565,039 598,215 647,290 8.2 3,338 3,642 3,867 6.2 0.6
Imports 454,676 518,638 579,294 11.7 67,271 68,270 67,856 0.6 11.7
Balance 110,363 79,577 67,996 14.6 63,933 64,628 63,989 1.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
Table 2: Exports / Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(in yen terms)
(Unit: ¥ billion, %)
2004 2005 2006 Year on year
Exports 361.1 400.8 449.7 12.2
Imports 7,281.8 7,480.7 7,887.7 5.4
Balance 6,920.7 7,079.9 7,438.0 5.1
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
2. Exports
(1) Overview
Of the total agricultural, forestry and fisheries exports amounting to $3.87 billion
in 2006, agricultural products accounted for $2.06 billion (up 3.2% y/y), fisheries
products $1.74 billion (up 10.4% y/y) and forestry products $69 million (down 5.5% y/y).
Exports have been increasing yearly for agricultural and fisheries products since
2003, this time increasing by 23.4%, and 60.6% in total over the past four years.
On the other hand, forestry product exports have decreased from the previous year.
However, they have increased by 30.2% over the past four years.
Since 2001, the ratio of agricultural exports has been gradually declining, while
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the ratio of fisheries exports has been gradually increasing. Agricultural exports account
for 53.2%, and fisheries exports account for 44.9% of the total exports in 2006.
Table 3: Exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Agricultural,
Aguricultural
forestry & fisheries Fisheries products Forestry products
products
products
2004 3,338 1,905 1,364 69
2005 3,642 1,995 1,574 73
2006 3,867 2,059 1,738 69
Year on year 6.2 3.2 10.4 5.5
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(2) Exports by Sector
1) Agricultural Products
Exports of farm produce (grains, fruits and vegetables), which have generally
accounted for over 90% of agricultural products, rose 3.6% y/y. Of this total, exports of
grains as a whole gained 2.3% y/y, as wheat and flour dropped, while macaroni/spaghetti
and rice increased. Rice exports increased with food aid for developing countries, which
accounts for some 95% of total rice exports in weight value. On a commercial basis, 593
tons of rice was exported to Taiwan (up 43.6% y/y) and 128 tons to the U.S. (an 8 times
increase). In addition to these, 302 tons were newly exported to the Philippines. All these
results shows that export efforts from the production side came to fruition. A ban of four
years was lifted in July 2007 regarding Japanese rice exports to China and the products
were seen in the markets of Beijing and Shanghai.
In the category of fruit exports, both grapes and apples, which account for nearly
40% of total fruit exports increased (centering on Taiwan and Hong Kong), but pears,
Satsuma oranges and persimmons fell due to a decrease in yield caused by the negative
impact of climate instability and pests. As a result, total fruit exports remained unchanged
from the previous year. Out of fruit exports, apple exports to Taiwan accounted for little
more than one third (34.8%).
Exports of vegetables increased 12.0% y/y centering on the Asian market where a
new breed of wealthy citizens made an appearance and in the U.S. market where
Japanese food popularity continued. In foreign countries, interests in Japanese foods were
on the rise and the opinion that “Japanese foods are safe to eat” was established. The
largest item ratio in vegetable exports were arrow roots/potatoes which accounted for
27.6%. Fresh mushrooms continued to increase but dried mushrooms continued to
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decline because the established markets were overwhelmed by Chinese products.
Exports of livestock products slightly rose 0.7% y/y, showing an increasing trend
from 2004. Untreated hides/fur skins and wool/animal hair which account for 58.6% of
the total exports decreased by 5.3%. Dairy goods increased by 37.3% y/y, chicken/animal
flesh meat and meat preparations increased 8.7% y/y and live animals gained 24.4% y/y.
Due to the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease and BSE, the U.S. suspended
importation of Japanese beef. In February 2005, these bans were lifted, and as a result,
export of beef to the U.S. jumped from $4,000 to $2.90 million.
Overall exports of silk threads decreased by one third. Exports of raw silk to India,
which was the biggest export destination, hit zero. Its main product of silk waist exported
to China was down 30.9% y/y and to Thailand was down 77.7% y/y. In 2006, silk threads
were exported to South Korea and Italy where Japan had no success in the previous year.
Table 4: Exports of agricultural products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
All agricultural Farm products Livestock Silk
products Grains Fruits Vegetables products threads
2004 1,905 1,771 184 97 46 122 12
2005 1,995 1,842 176 130 50 147 6
2006 2,059 1,909 180 130 56 148 2
Year on year 3.2 3.6 2.3 0.0 12.0 0.7 66.7
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
2) Fisheries products
In fisheries products, exports of fish (fresh, chilled, frozen and living), which
account for a little less than 50% of the total, rose 10.4% y/y, resulting in an increase for
4 consecutive years, with a decrease in tuna/bonitos but an increase in the mainstay of
salmon, trout, cod and mackerel.
Exports of shellfish/mollusks decreased by 8.4% y/y mainly due to a decrease in
the mainstay of squid. A total of 1.51 tons of Ise-lobsters (frozen) were exported to Hong
Kong and South Korea where there was no success in the previous year. Oysters exported
to South Korea increased 85-fold over the previous year where its demand was growing
as a health food and sea squirt also increased by double over the previous year.
Exports of canned and bottled products rose by 8.7% y/y, as shipments of salmon,
herring and sardines increased, but mackerel, tuna, bonito and crab decreased.
Exports of both natural and cultured pearls increased and the total export increased by
3.0% over the previous year. However, it remained at 0.7% up y/y in terms of numerical
quantity.
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Fisheries exports were spurred in part by a simplification of quarantine
procedures for aquatic food for the Chinese market in September 2005 and the number of
producing areas that aggressively dealt in exports increasing.
Table 5: Exports of fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Fish (fresh, Canned and Other
All fisheries Shellfish/
chilled, bottled Pearls fisheries
products mollusks
frozen, etc.) preparations products
2004 1,364 610 181 289 248 36
2005 1,574 690 215 368 267 35
2006 1,738 821 197 400 275 48
Year on year 10.4 19.0 8.4 8.7 3.0 37.1
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
3) Forestry Products
Of lumber/worked lumber, all of acicular conifer, broad leaf tree and tropical
timber fell. The total exports decreased by 14.3% y/y. Exports of plywood/veneers fell
10.0% y/y because the mainstay of the Malaysian market for veneers faced fierce
competition with Chinese products. Other materials and rosins increased but a decrease
of particle boards offset it.
Table 6: Exports of forestry products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
All forestry Lumber/ Plywood/ Other forestry
products worked lumber Veneers products
2004 69 15 19 35
2005 73 14 20 39
2006 69 12 18 39
Year on year 5.5 14.3 10.0 0.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(3) Exports by Destination Country/Area
Looking at the export of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products according to
the destination countries/areas, the previous pattern of Japan’s exportation, other than the
assistance-rice-exports, was that the United States was the largest export market,
followed by the Asian markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Thailand and
Singapore in that order. In 2005, the U.S. and Hong Kong switched its position and China
and South Korea did the same. In 2006, this order remained unchanged in the top 8
5
markets. Exports to China continued in double-digit growth. All categories of fisheries
exports also increased in 2006 and showed significant gain of 17.8% y/y. Producing areas
and municipalities throughout Japan are aggressively developing marketing activities by
focusing their attention on the wealthy of China who are enhancing purchasing
capabilities. It seems as though China will soon take over Taiwan in the list. Exports to
Taiwan fell mainly due to the decline of cigarettes and exports to Thailand also decreased
mainly because of a decrease in tuna/bonitos.
The five largest markets’ shares account for 74.8%, an increase of 0.2% points
over the previous year, showing a slight increase in concentration of the biggest markets
or regions.
Table 7: Exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(by destination country/area)
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Ranking 2006
2004 2005 2006
2005 2006 Year on year Composition ratio
1 1 Hong Kong 584 675 708 4.9 18.3
2 2 USA 610 662 688 3.9 17.8
3 3 Taiwan 481 580 547 5.7 14.1
4 4 China 379 428 504 17.8 13.0
5 5 Korea 386 371 445 19.9 11.5
6 6 Thailand 124 179 172 3.9 4.4
7 7 Singapore 75 79 86 8.9 2.2
8 8 Australia 40 42 42 0.0 1.1
12 9 Netherlands 39 35 41 17.1 1.1
11 10 Canada 38 39 39 0.0 1.0
Total of top 10
2,756 3,090 3,272 5.9 84.6
countries/areas
World total 3,338 3,642 3,867 6.2 100.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(4) Major Export Items
Pearls remained the largest item of export, with exports to Hong Kong,
accounting for 46.6% of the total. Other than Hong Kong, this category succeeded in
exporting to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Almost all
pearls (99.7%) exported from Japan are of the cultured variety.
The second largest item was cigarettes, Taiwan being the largest market, which
accounts for three-quarters of the total exports. However, exports of cigarettes to almost
all countries including Taiwan declined but that to the Philippines and Russia increased.
The third largest item was shellfish. The main item, scallops decreased by almost
30% in the U.S., the biggest market. However, exports to the EU rose after the
recommencement of exports in 2003. In particular, exports to France increased by 94.4%
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and also pushed into Belgium and Holland where Japan had no success in the previous
year. Demand from manufacturers for cooked food in France showed a strong desire for
them. South Korea is importing oyster shells because Kyongsang-namdo intends to
re-export oysters to Japan after culturing.
Exports of fourth-ranking confectionery products fared well with the mainstay
chocolate centered on Asian countries and chewing gums on Middle Eastern territories.
In South Korea, chocolates containing a larger percentage of cacao gained in popularity
due to a health trend and chocolate exports to the country increased four times.
Fifth-ranking salmon and trout ranked one ahead of the previous year as exports
to China which accounted for 90% of the total export steadily advanced. Large cities in
coastal areas of China such as Shanghai expanded consumption. China is also
re-exporting fishery products to the U.S. and Europe where popularity for this item is
growing due to health and hygiene reasons.
Eighth-ranking mackerel registered a general advance including in its mainstays
of China, South Korea and Thailand and the exports resulted in a 3.3 times increase.
Consequently, it rose up the ranks sharply from 20-th place. Reasons for the increase
were 1) mackerel used for processed materials targeted at China enjoyed bumper yields
and therefore were sold for a very low price for the first time in 20 years and 2)
mackerels generally exported to South Korea were almost the same in quality as those
caught in Cheju Island and generally lower in price. In Japanese restaurants in Thailand, a
popular set menu item is mackerel broil with salt and teriyaki.
40th-ranking squid and preparations greatly fell back from 29th as exports to China
(which was the largest buyer) almost fell by half from the previous year. The reason was
that China increased its imports by 16 times (quantity base) compared to the previous
year from Argentina because the country enjoyed a good yield.
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Table 8: Major export items
(Unit: $1,000, %)
Rank Unit Value Year on Quantity Year on
2005 2006 year 2005 2006 year
1 Pearls 266,745 275,115 3.1 46,233 46,561 0.7
2 Cigarettes 247,743 227,988 8.0 19,005 17,460 8.1
3 Shellfish 231,138 206,978 10.5 8,319 9,251 11.2
4 Confectionary products 197,554 201,551 2.0 27,628 29,200 5.7
5 Salmon/trout 129,570 151,179 16.7 65,959 66,451 0.7
6 Tuna/bonitos 149,604 130,271 12.9 105,156 78,363 25.5
7 Cod 82,271 111,002 34.9 66,822 91,732 37.3
8 Mackerel 33,110 108,503 227.7 58,440 179,861 207.8
9 Sea cucumber (dried) 71,660 108,132 50.9 230 273 18.7
10 Rawhide 86,838 81,563 6.1 73,683 73,472 0.3
11 Vegetable seeds 68,843 71,185 3.4 1,400 1,445 3.2
12 Flour, meslin 73,438 67,926 7.5 289,910 290,029 0.0
13 Processed feedstuff 48,647 61,308 26.0 20,881 28,216 35.1
14 Filet of fish, fish meat 56,277 59,818 6.3 8,484 8,842 4.2
15 Fruits 60,855 57,784 5.0 24,748 23,215 6.2
16 Sugar, etc. 47,735 54,440 14.0 10,859 12,373 13.9
17 Processed ground rice/flour products 48,933 53,231 8.8 17,363 20,352 17.2
18 Sake 48,576 52,483 8.0 9,537 10,269 7.7
19 Fishcakes 39,224 42,009 7.1 6,623 6,983 5.4
20 Water and non-alcoholic beverages 35,337 36,991 4.7 17,407 20,457 17.5
21 Soup, broth 29,214 33,058 13.2 4,288 4,836 12.8
22 Crab 31,542 31,673 0.4 3,946 4,293 8.8
23 Soy sauce 28,502 29,951 5.1 17,768 17,100 3.8
24 Sea bream (live) 16,783 27,683 64.9 2,909 4,498 54.6
25 Plant extract 25,286 26,703 5.6 386 378 2.1
26 Green tea 19,215 26,340 37.1 1,096 1,576 43.8
27 Processed vegetables 26,161 25,724 1.7 5,662 5,555 1.9
28 Beer 17,680 24,943 41.1 18,081 27,029 49.5
29 Edible seaweed 28,947 23,960 17.2 2,802 2,421 13.6
30 Water, ice, snow 18,630 23,618 26.8 7,622 9,994 31.1
31 Dextrin 23,275 22,980 1.3 7,628 8,153 6.9
32 Fresh vegetables 14,645 22,647 54.6 7,090 8,709 22.8
33 Plant/flower seeds for gardening 19,073 22,226 16.5 37 55 48.6
34 Sesame oil 20,044 22,031 9.9 5,090 5,679 11.6
35 Yeast 22,863 18,232 20.3 859 642 25.3
36 Tins/jars of fruit 15,453 17,259 11.7 3,189 3,058 4.1
37 Samma (Pacitic Saury),forzen 9,743 17,077 75.3 14,325 26,204 82.9
38 Shark/shark's fin 16,462 16,681 1.3 5,507 4,323 21.5
39 Aquarium fish 16,868 16,536 2.0 256 204 20.3
40 Cuttlefish, Squid and Prepared products 22,815 15,951 30.1 14,406 10,762 25.3
41 Menthol 13,300 15,791 18.7 1,277 1,444 13.1
42 Syoucyu 14,359 15,338 6.8 4,707 5,155 9.5
43 Miso (soy bean paste) 14,539 15,241 4.8 7,755 8,747 12.8
44 Eel (live) 15,821 13,085 17.3 60 95 58.3
45 Fats and oils of animals 12,740 12,141 4.7 2,289 1,875 18.1
46 Fats and oils of fish 10,881 12,089 11.1 1,159 1,169 0.9
47 Rosin and resin acids 10,681 12,025 12.6 5,588 3,577 36.0
48 Edible, animal or vegetable fats 11,724 11,599 1.1 4,569 4,649 1.8
49 Liqueurs/cordials 11,856 11,571 2.4 1,858 2,434 31.0
50 Lumber 12,754 11,251 11.8 20,091 17,099 14.9
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
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Table 9-1: Export items increase/decrease (based on value)
Increase rate top 10 items Decrease rate top 10 items
(Unit: $1,000, %) (Unit: $1,000, %)
Item 2005 2006 Y/Y Item 2005 2006 Y/Y
1 Beef(frozen,chilled) 18 2,907 16,050.0 1 Bluefin tuna 998 387 61.2
2 Edible offal of pork 2 112 5,500.0 2 Carrots ,turnips 152 64 57.9
3 Mackerel 33,110 108,503 227.7 3 Other cut flower 340 155 54.4
4 Mushrooms 2,084 6,055 190.5 4 Tinned mackerel 5,606 2,900 48.3
5 Prepared milk powder 4,126 8,195 98.6 5 Tinned crabs 206 115 44.2
6 Sea mussels 78 145 85.9 6 Dried nori(seaweed) 2,649 1,561 41.1
7 Rice 5,732 9,861 72.0 7 Cod(fish paste) 6,260 3,780 39.6
8 Oyster(fresh,chilled,salted) 3,121 5,048 61.7 8 Bonito 68,623 42,844 37.6
9 Pork(frozen) 392 629 60.5 9 Beef(frozen) 4,301 2,700 37.2
10 Othe edible roots(note) 309 482 56.0 10 Pears,quinces 7,162 4,553 36.4
(Note) "Other edible roots" refers to arrowroots, saleps, Jerusalem artichokes and similar products.
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
Table 9-2: Export items increase/decrease (based on quantity)
Increase rate top 10 items Decrease rate top 10 items
(Unit: %) (Unit: %)
Item Unit 2005 2006 Y/Y Item Unit 2005 2006 Y/Y
1 Beef(fresh,chilled) 0.3 40 13,233.3 1 Bluefin tuna 62 13 79.0
2 Edible offal of pork 3 177 5,800.0 2 Onion,Shallot 33 9 72.7
3 Sea mussels 8 82 925.0 3 Carrots,turinps 305 125 59.0
4 Edible offal of beef 0.4 2 400.0 4 Tinned crabs 11 5 54.5
5 Oyster(fresh,chilled,salted) 237 839 254.0 5 Plywood 6,692 3,251 51.4
6 Mackerel 58,440 179,861 207.8 6 Beef(frozen) 71 35 50.7
7 Prepared milk powder 419 1,101 162.8 7 Tinned mackerel 2,257 1,165 48.4
8 Tinned salmon 26 58 123.1 8 Tinned samma (Pacific Saury) 163 86 47.2
9 Mushrooms 589 1,271 115.8 9 Satsuma oranges 4,907 2,710 44.8
10 Pork(frozen) 32 63 96.9 10 Dried nori(seaweed) 90 50 44.4
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
3. Imports
(1) Overview
Of the total imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products amounting to
$67.86 billion (down 0.6% y/y) in 2006, agricultural products accounted for $43.15
billion (down 1.5% y/y), fisheries products for $14.67 billion (down 3.5% y/y) and
forestry products for $10.03 billion (up 8.4% y/y), with agricultural products and
fisheries products decreasing for the first time in four years and three years respectively.
On the other hand, forestry products, which had only decreased in the previous year, were
on the increase. The composition of the total imports remained largely unchanged from
the previous year, with agricultural products accounting for a little over 60% of the total,
fisheries products a little over 20% and forestry products made up the remainder.
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Table 10 : Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Agricultural, forestry &
Agricultural products Fisheries products Forestry products
fisheries products
2004 67,271 42,318 15,126 9,826
2005 68,270 43,811 15,203 9,256
2006 67,856 43,154 14,670 10,032
Year on year 0.6 1.5 3.5 8.4
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(2) Imports by Sector
1) Agricultural products
Imports of agricultural products can be largely classified into 3 sections, (1) farm
products (which account for three-quarters of total imports of agricultural products), (2)
livestock products (a quarter of the same total) and (3) silk threads.
Imports of agricultural products increased by 2.6% y/y. The main products of
grains and grain preparations declined 0.3% y/y due to the increase of wheat but there
was a decrease in corns, rice and grain sorghums. Fruits and fruit preparations fell 2.2%
due largely to bananas and pineapples centered on the Philippines. Regarding imports of
cherries, a large decrease in yield in the State of California caused a drastic decrease from
the U.S. Based upon the Free Trade Agreement between Japan and the Philippines
(September 2006), the Philippines is investigating exports to Japan for small-type
bananas which are different from the conventional Cavendish variety.
Imports of vegetables and vegetable preparations increased by 1.0% with
fresh/chilled products falling centering on cabbages and mushrooms but with dried,
frozen products and vegetable juices on the increase. Imports of coffee/cocoa, tea, spices
and condiments increased by 4.5% with tea, spices and condiments falling but
coffee/cocoa increasing. Imports of vegetable oil decreased by 6.8% y/y due largely to
the decrease of fat and oil including soybean and rape seed.
Imports of livestock products fell 11.7% y/y except sheep wool and animal hair
(blow ball and feathers for stuffing). Imports of beef were shifted from the U.S. to
Australia and New Zealand due to the safety problem surrounding American beef in 2004
and 2005. However, the total imports of beef including those from these two countries in
2006 decreased by 8.6%. Imports of pork increased from Mexico which has only just
entered into Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan but imports from almost
every other major exporting country decreased. As a result, total imports of pork fell by
25.4% compared to the previous year. Imports of chicken decreased by 20.5% because of
imports from Brazil decreasing to which imports were shifted from other countries due to
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the impact of bird flu in 2004 and 2005. Imports of processed foods increased by 6.4%
with pork preparations from China increasing including imports from the largest
exporters (China, Thailand and U.S.).
Imports of dairy products fell by 2.7% because of a buying restraint from
Australia for cheese, which accounted for 60% due to the rise in price. Imports of bird
eggs (liquid whole eggs and dehydrated eggs) in 2006 decreased by 24.6%. Imported bird
eggs make up only a small ratio of the domestic market and the quantity of imports will
vary depending on the exchange rate and domestic prices.
Imports of silk threads increased by 23.8% due largely to the increase of raw silk
which accounted for close to 90%.
Table 11: Imports of agricultural products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Year on
2004 2005 2006
year
Farm products 30,542 31,244 32,044 2.6
Grains and grain preparations 6,481 6,116 6,100 0.3
Fruits and fruits preparations 2,806 2,867 2,804 2.2
Vegetables and vegetable preparations 3,421 3,520 3,556 1.0
Sugars and sugar preparations 652 736 893 21.3
Coffee, cocoa, tea, spices 1,793 2,099 2,194 4.5
Other foods and beverages 4,017 4,209 4,324 2.7
Vegetable oils 3,955 3,635 3,389 6.8
Tobacco 2,863 3,296 3,432 4.1
Natural rubber 1,053 1,199 1,836 53.1
Cotton 296 246 216 12.2
Other farm products 3,204 3,320 3,301 0.6
Livestock products 11,733 12,525 11,058 11.7
Meat/poultry and their processed products 9,269 9,936 8,519 14.3
Dairy products/bird eggs 1,393 1,497 1,416 5.4
Wool and other animal hair 397 352 393 11.6
Other livestock products 674 740 730 1.4
Silk threads 43 42 52 23.8
Total 42,318 43,811 43,154 1.5
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
11
Table 12: Imports of agriculutural products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Ranking 2006
2004 2005 2006
2005 2006 Year on year Composition ratio
1 1 USA 13,385 13,525 13,067 3.4 30.3
2 2 China 5,223 5,620 5,717 1.7 13.2
3 3 Australia 4,319 4,327 4,116 4.9 9.5
4 4 Thailand 2,122 2,384 2,752 15.4 6.4
5 5 Canada 2,711 2,705 2,394 11.5 5.5
8 6 France 1,566 1,517 1,679 10.7 3.9
7 7 Brazil 1,449 1,576 1,464 7.1 3.4
6 8 New Zealand 1,043 1,171 1,070 8.6 2.5
9 9 Indonesia 542 633 996 57.3 2.3
10 10 Denmark 1,638 1,348 923 31.5 2.1
Total of the
33,998 34,806 34,178 1.8 79.2
top 10 countries
World total 42,318 43,811 43,154 1.5 100.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
2) Fisheries products
Imports of fisheries products rose 12.0% y/y in 2004 after a continuous decline
since 2001 and imports in 2005 slightly increased. The largest category of fresh, chilled
and frozen fisheries products decreased by 5.5% y/y and live fish, salted and dried
fisheries decreased in 2006. Total imports fell 3.5% y/y. Imports of canned and bottled
fisheries products as well as other fisheries products were on the increase.
In the category of fresh, chilled and frozen fisheries products, fish (which account
for almost 60% of the total) decreased by 5.6% y/y with tuna dropping due to the fishing
restriction in Taiwan, as well as salmon and cod falling. Shellfish/mollusks fell 2.4% y/y,
with shrimp, which accounts for more than half of this category, decreasing as well as
crab, squid and fish eggs. The total of fresh, chilled and frozen fisheries products fell
5.5% y/y.
Imports of canned and bottled fisheries products increased by 1.5% y/y. While
imports of the mainstays of shrimp and prawns rose 12% y/y. Processed eels imported,
which decreased in 2005 after the detection of antibiotics, also increased by 1.9% y/y.
Imports of crab and tuna in this category decreased.
Imports of live fish declined 21.4% y/y, as eel (which accounts for over 60% of
the total) decreased both from China and Taiwan due to the sit and wait stance to a newly
introduced Positive List System for Agricultural Chemical Residues in Food.
Imports of fisheries products were on the increase from Chile where salmon and
trout were grown on mass on fish farms and Chile advanced to rank three from its last
position of fifth as an import supplier of fisheries products.
12
Table 13: Imports of fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Fresh, chilled, Salted and dried Canned and bottled Other fisheries
Total Live fish
frozen fisheries products fisheries products fisheries products products
2004 15,126 496 10,668 579 2,704 679
2005 15,203 560 10,687 568 2,633 755
2006 14,670 440 10,096 530 2,672 932
Year on year 3.5 21.4 5.5 6.7 1.5 23.4
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
Table 14: Imports of fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Ranking 2006
Country/region 2004 2005 2006
2005 2006 Year on year Composition ratio
1 1 China 3,103 3,239 3,282 1.3 22.4
2 2 USA 1,361 1,438 1,303 9.4 8.9
5 3 Chile 867 945 1,037 9.7 7.1
3 4 Russia 1,079 1,129 985 12.8 6.7
4 5 Thailand 1,019 992 969 2.3 6.6
Total of the top 5
7,429 7,743 7,576 2.2 51.6
countries
World total 15,126 15,203 14,670 3.5 100.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
3) Forestry Products
Imports of forestry products increased 8.4% y/y, with logs, lumber/worked lumber,
plywood/veneers and all other items on the up over the previous year’s import levels.
Imports of logs dropped 0.7% y/y in quantity base, reflecting log export
restrictions or restraint measures imposed by major exporting countries (including the
United States, Canada, Russia and Malaysia). However, due to the high price at the area
of production and increase in cost, imports of logs increased by 6.9% y/y in terms of
monetary value. Imports of lumber/worked lumber rose by 3.9% y/y as imports evenly
increased from major suppliers such as Canada and Finland as well as from the other
usual countries. Imports of other forestry products including plywood/veneers increased
11.8% y/y as imports of laminated veneer lumber increased due to the reduction in the
tariff rate which occurred as a result of the commencement of the Japan-Malaysia EPA.
13
Table 15: Imports of forestry products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Lumber/worked Other forestry
Total Logs
timber products
2004 9,826 1,955 3,192 4,679
2005 9,256 1,718 2,935 4,603
2006 10,032 1,837 3,049 5,145
Year on year 8.4 6.9 3.9 11.8
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
Table 16: Imports of forestry products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Ranking 2006
Country 2004 2005 2006
2005 2006 Year on year Composition ratio
2 1 Malaysia 1,174 1,231 1,625 32.0 16.2
1 2 Canada 1,506 1,297 1,385 6.8 13.8
3 3 Indonesia 1,257 1,023 1,028 0.5 10.2
6 4 Russia 851 736 876 19.0 8.7
4 5 USA 932 857 851 0.7 8.5
Total of the top 5
5,720 5,144 5,765 12.1 57.5
countries
World total 9,826 9,256 10,032 8.4 100.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(3) Imports by Supplier Country/Area
Among the top 10 countries, the order of the largest suppliers, the U.S.(1st) to the
6th largest Indonesia, remained unchanged from the previous year. The 11th largest
country, France switched its position with Brazil becoming the 10th largest supplier.
As for the U.S., imports of cigarettes, the largest import item from the U.S., and
the second biggest item, corn increased but the other big-ticket items of pork (live, chilled
and frozen) decreased 21.3% y/y as well as soybeans, cod and salmon. Total imports from
the U.S. decreased by 3.8% and its share in Japan’s total import of agricultural, forestry
and fisheries imports also fell by 0.8% points.
Imports from China, the second largest supplier for Japan, rose 2.6% y/y, with its
share edging up 0.5 % points while imports of live eels, fell because of the sit and wait
stance of Japanese buyers to the Positive List System for Agricultural Chemical Residues
in Food. Shrimp and crabs also fell. Among other items, processed eels made a comeback
which had previously fared poorly due to the problem of residual antibiotics, and
laminated boards, lumbers and pork preparations fared well.
Imports from Australia, the third largest exporter to Japan, declined from the
previous year because its main export item, beef, was generally replaced by American
14
beef because of a lift on the ban of imports of beef from the U.S. to Japan.
Imports from 4th-place Canada also declined due to the decrease in imports of
pork, which was caused by the decline of its international competitive edge arising from
an increase in labor costs.
Import increases from 5th-ranking Thailand and 6th-place Indonesia were largely
due to the rise in import unit prices of natural rubber which is big item (1.47 times in
Thailand and 1.49 times in Indonesia).
Imports from Malaysia dramatically increased by 24.9%. This increase is the most
substantial of the imports from the 10 largest supplier countries. Commencement of the
EPA with Malaysia lowered the tariff rate of laminated boards, and layered boards
promoted the increase of imports drastically by 41.9% y/y.
Table 17: Imports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products
(Unit: $1 million, %)
Ranking 2006
Country 2004 2005 2006
2005 2006 Year on year Composition ratio
1 1 USA 15,679 15,819 15,221 3.8 22.4
2 2 China 8,992 9,557 9,808 2.6 14.5
3 3 Australia 5,495 5,497 5,325 3.1 7.8
4 4 Canada 4,715 4,495 4,220 6.1 6.2
5 5 Thailand 3,212 3,441 3,765 9.4 5.5
6 6 Indonesia 2,622 2,452 2,790 13.8 4.1
9 7 Malaysia 1,713 1,797 2,244 24.9 3.3
7 8 Russia 1,947 1,886 1,882 0.2 2.8
8 9 Chile 1,613 1,804 1,851 2.6 2.7
11 10 France 1,603 1,568 1,717 9.5 2.5
Total of the top 10
47,591 48,316 48,823 1.1 72.0
countries
World total 67,271 68,270 67,856 0.6 100.0
(Source) Ministry of Finance, trade statistics
(4) Major Import Items
Looking at changes of import unit price among the top 30 import items, 15 items
(17 items in the previous year) increased from their 2005 import levels while 14 items
(12 items in the previous year) decreased. One item (one in the previous year) remained
unchanged. An overall decrease in import unit prices from 2005 to 2006 for main items
was seen.
Imports of pork, the largest import item, fell by $1.13 billion (down 25.4 % y/y),
showing a two consecutive year decrease. This figure is 2.7 times that of the total
decrease, shown of agricultural, forestry and fisheries imports and equivalent to the total
15
import value of coffee. Only imports from Mexico with whom Japan entered into an EPA,
increased. However, import unit prices from this country were the highest (1.03 times the
average import unit prices).
Regarding timber, import of the 5th-ranked timber tips and 11th-ranked lumber
increased over the previous year. This is because of a rise in import unit prices. And, in
terms of quantity, imports decreased by 2.4% y/y and 0.7% y/y respectively. The
6th-ranked plywood showed the same trend.
Conversely, all import unit prices for meat related items fell such as top-ranked
pork, 8 -place beef, 9th-place meat processed foods, and 28th-place chicken.
th
Table 18 : Major import items
(Unit: $1,000, %)
Value Year on Quantity Year on
Rank Item Unit
2005 2006 year 2005 2006 year
1 Pork 4,450,927 3,320,978 25.4 884,711 734,926 16.9
2 Cigars, cheroots, and cigarettes, etc. 3,105,389 3,192,608 2.8 93,675 98,920 5.6
3 Lumber 2,934,742 3,049,005 3.9 8,720,810 8,858,766 1.6
4 Prawn/shrimp 2,135,555 2,132,866 0.1 241,716 238,020 1.5
5 Wood chips 2,065,974 2,111,231 2.2 14,111,937 13,775,994 2.4
6 Plywood 1,676,889 2,080,180 24.0 4,118,265 4,301,270 4.4
7 Tuna, bonito 2,049,090 2,038,646 0.5 389,153 337,738 13.2
8 Beef (excluding edible offal of beef) 2,022,749 1,943,072 3.9 459,919 460,618 0.2
9 Processed meet 1,820,369 1,937,017 6.4 532,974 576,302 8.1
10 Corn 1,888,397 1,858,396 1.6 12,417,782 12,396,728 0.2
11 Logs 1,717,695 1,837,406 7.0 10,654,067 10,582,128 0.7
12 Natural rubber 1,198,695 1,835,522 53.1 854,000 891,674 4.4
Fillet of fish, fish meat (excluding scrap
13 1,290,204 1,338,760 3.8 379,050 362,236 4.4
bluefin & southern bluefin tuna)
14 Wheat 1,240,008 1,282,550 3.4 5,472,347 5,337,110 2.5
15 Soybeans 1,438,032 1,282,465 10.8 4,180,626 4,041,884 3.3
16 Wine 1,022,625 1,162,231 13.7 160,152 168,113 5.0
17 Coffee 1,080,046 1,136,438 5.2 439,217 446,997 1.8
18 Frozen vegetables 973,054 1,051,268 8.0 783,613 826,342 5.5
19 Salmon/trout 997,228 919,412 7.8 224,827 202,423 10.0
20 Fish roe and their processed products 1,082,154 916,675 15.3 90,133 88,757 1.5
21 Fresh vegetables 970,541 905,880 6.7 1,125,187 969,445 13.8
22 Crab and their processed products 866,409 802,150 7.4 115,541 111,609 3.4
23 Tropical fruits 801,910 772,428 3.7 1,267,894 1,242,828 2.0
24 Eel 779,085 728,445 6.5 55,959 55,726 0.4
25 Cheese 738,173 723,357 2.0 211,692 207,420 2.0
26 Rapeseed 729,343 717,202 1.7 2,294,720 2,274,047 0.9
27 Pet food 714,805 700,352 2.0 443,678 417,332 5.9
28 Chicken 849,597 675,589 20.5 419,122 370,675 11.6
29 Squid and their processed products 655,312 639,920 2.3 144,883 145,423 0.4
30 Snacks 511,717 534,202 4.4 131,034 138,814 5.9
31 Processed prawn/shrimp products 475,828 533,979 12.2 60,254 69,376 15.1
32 Cocoa 477,078 526,066 10.3 228,407 245,912 7.7
33 Vegetable oil 490,605 523,737 6.8 652,301 667,265 2.3
34 Fruit drinks 506,501 518,616 2.4 356,419 329,693 7.5
35 Salted or prepared vegetables 542,343 516,387 4.8 483,024 466,012 3.5
36 Raw sugar 351,246 476,350 35.6 1,328,941 1,292,068 2.8
37 Vegetable oil meal 500,686 458,402 8.4 1,700,905 1,722,398 1.3
38 Citrus 419,284 419,457 0.0 411,348 377,820 8.2
39 Fish meal 258,883 397,942 53.7 372,639 408,189 9.5
40 Pearls 332,908 380,197 14.2 68,245 75,561 10.7
41 Edible nuts 401,757 378,467 5.8 73,143 68,679 6.1
42 Cod 366,371 334,017 8.8 150,698 135,544 10.1
43 Temperate fruits 376,023 321,448 14.5 127,988 110,840 13.4
16
