The value of Japan's food, agricultural, forestry and fisheries product exports in the first half of 2024 fell 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 701.3 billion yen ($4.7 billion), marking the first decline in four years due to lower shipments to China, government data showed Friday.
The decrease in the January-June period reflected China's import ban on Japanese marine products over the discharge of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The value of shipments to China dropped 43.8 percent to 78.4 billion yen, with scallop exports dropping to zero from 22.3 billion yen in the same period last year.
Scallop exports to the United States and Vietnam grew as the Japanese government helped producers find new markets, but the rise could not make up for the loss of sales to China, the data showed.
While overall exports to China and Hong Kong were down, shipments to other countries and areas rose 14.3 percent, supported by higher demand not only in the retail but the restaurant industry. The weakening of the yen also contributed to the stronger demand by making Japanese products comparatively cheaper overseas.
By country, the United States was the biggest buyer, up 19.9 percent at 115.6 billion yen boosted by increased exports of scallops and sake among other products.
Hong Kong ranked second, down 10.5 percent at 103.2 billion yen, followed by China, which dropped from the top spot last year.
By item, exports of seasonings soared 21.9 percent to 29.8 billion yen as the popularity of Japanese food grew, particularly in Europe and the United States.
Exports of beef, chicken, rice and apples hit record highs since comparable data became available in 2002, while green tea saw a 36.8 percent jump to 15.9 billion yen.
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