Japan Food Exports Continue To Grow
Japan's exports of food and farm goods are continuing to rise to record levels, supported by the weak yen and a recovery in the global restaurant industry.
Shipments of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products and foodstuffs in the January-to-September period reached almost one trillion yen, or nearly 7 billion dollars. That's up almost 15 percent from the same period last year.
China was the biggest export destination. The country bought up about 1.3 billion dollars of Japanese food items. The US followed closely behind at one billion dollars.
By item, the export value of seafood, such as scallops and yellowtail, surged by more than 30 percent. Exports were also strong for alcoholic drinks like sake and whiskey. They rose 24 percent.
The government has set a target of boosting the annual export value to about 13 billion dollars by 2025.
To achieve this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is supporting businesses that participate in overseas trade fairs or take steps to improve their manufacturing and processing facilities.