Japan to Track Exports of Packaged Rice, Instant Miso Soup and More
Overview
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will create new export statistical subdivisions for nine products with strong overseas demand and export growth potential, enabling more accurate tracking of export performance in the Ministry of Finance’s Trade Statistics. The new subdivisions will apply from January 2027, making data on destinations, value, quantity and other details available. The ministry plans to develop measures based on detailed analysis of export performance toward the 5 trillion yen target for exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food.
Key points
- New export statistical subdivisions will be created for products whose export performance cannot currently be tracked.
- The nine products are packaged cooked rice, carbonated drinks, processed soy sauce products, instant miso soup, frozen pizza and frozen takoyaki, konjac, shucked oysters, fried oysters and dried scallops.
- The statistical data will be used for analysis needed to formulate export measures.
Overview
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries analyzes export performance by product based on the Ministry of Finance’s Trade Statistics and implements necessary export measures. Some products have strong overseas demand and export growth potential, but current statistics have made their performance difficult to track accurately. After repeated exchanges of views with food businesses and industry groups, the ministry considered their input and decided to create statistical subdivisions for multiple products.
The measures are being advanced toward the 2030 target of 5 trillion yen in exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food.
Impact
Export destinations, values, quantities and other details for the products will be tracked more accurately in the Trade Statistics.
Details
Nine products will be covered. Packaged cooked rice (1904.90-011) is expected to expand exports even to countries and regions without a rice-eating or rice-cooking culture. Carbonated drinks (2202.10-100), including ramune, are popular overseas, while processed soy sauce products (2103.90-600) make it easy to recreate authentic Japanese flavors. Instant miso soup (2104.10-100) is also popular overseas.
Frozen pizza and frozen takoyaki, among other products (1905.90-800), are expected to expand exports by drawing on Japanese freezing technology. Konjac (2106.90-400), a low-calorie food rich in dietary fiber, is popular in Western countries and elsewhere. Export destinations are expected to expand for shucked oysters (0307.12-100), particularly in Asia, and fried oysters (1605.51-910), particularly in Europe and the United States. Dried scallops (1605.52-100) are used in Asian cuisine, and future export trends are drawing attention.
In addition to creating export statistical subdivisions, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says it will work to collect and analyze data needed to formulate export measures.