Japanese tomato importing season arrives

Published 2021년 6월 14일

Japanese peak fresh tomatoes imports occur during their summer when the consumption of fresh produce as a lighter meal increases and is starting their peak. Their consumption of fresh tomatoes has been on a rise in the last few years due to its health benefits. The main growth is observed in the consumption of cherry tomatoes. South Korea is the main supplier of imported cherry tomatoes in Japan with a 47% share in 2020. The success of South Korean cherry tomatoes in Japan can be explained by the seasonality that overlaps with the Japanese summer which is the peak in consumption, but also the year-round availability. The South Korean producers have also invested heavily in production technologies to enhance production and on the promotion of their products, which helped the export growth in recent years.

Fresh tomatoes in the Japanese market are mostly produced domestically, only 1% being supplied by exports. The imported large-sized tomatoes are suitable for long-distance freight from New Zealand and Canada due to their firm flesh. Since cherry tomatoes are more fragile and can only be transported for short distances, South Korea is the leading supplying country to the Japanese market. Recently, there has been a boom in the Japanese consumption of fresh cherry tomatoes, especially salads due to their health benefits. This growth has made South Korea the main source of imported fresh tomatoes to Japan with a 47% share in 2020. Japan in turn is the main destination for South Korean tomatoes representing 98% of the total exported volume. The Korean market was able to successfully supply tomatoes to the Japanese market due to serious investments in farming technologies and active government support to export its fresh produce to the foreign market.

Source: Yasainavi

During the last five years, the imported fresh tomatoes in Japan have been mainly from six countries (South Korea, Mexico, United States, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Canada). The increased domestic consumption of fresh tomatoes pushed for an annual increase of 6% in the imported volume. Japan works with these six countries to have a constant supply. The main supplier, South Korea, had farmers invested in technology such as green housing to allow a stable production throughout the year, with a peak during spring and summer (around May to September). The peak in the South Korean tomato harvest overlaps with the Japanese spring and summer, where there is an increase in the consumption of salads, boasting the imports of South Korean tomatoes to Japan.

Source: Tridge, ITC

The spring/summer South Korean tomato harvest for MY 2021 has started and exports are picking up. In April, the Japanese imported fresh tomatoes from South Korea have represented 52.1% of the total tomato imports.

Source: GD Freak

The wholesale pricing of cherry tomatoes in Seoul has achieved its lowest price since September 2020 in June. The arrival of the peak of the season has pushed down the prices with the increased availability of products. The price practiced in Seoul’s wholesale market was USD 2.41 per kg on June 7th, which 62.4% lower than the peak in March 2021 and 16.4% higher compared to the same period in the previous year. If prices follow the same trend as the previous year, the prices are expected to maintain low up to the beginning of July when it starts to rise again as available volumes reduce.

Cherry tomatoes wholesale price in Seoul