Japan's farm and food exports reach record 10.9% growth in H1 2026

Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry, fishery and food products rose 10.9% year‑on‑year in the first half of 2026, reaching 897.7 billion yen (about $5.7 billion), a record for the January‑June period and the second consecutive year of growth.

The United States was the top market, up 15.3% to 162.6 billion yen. Exports also grew to Hong Kong (+3.0%), China (+4.3%), South Korea (+20.5%) and Vietnam (+35.4%). Green tea posted the strongest product gain, jumping 83.5% to 48.2 billion yen, driven by a global matcha boom, inbound tourism and rising health consciousness. Yellowtail fish surged 69% to 43.4 billion yen, while rice volumes fell but its value rose to a record 7.5 billion yen.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries noted that new sales channels in overseas supermarkets and restaurants helped expand market reach, although the overall export growth rate slowed from 15.5% in the same period of 2025.