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The total value of agricultural, fishery and other food products exported from Japan in the first half (January-June) of 2018 was JPY435.9 billion, surging 15.2% year on year, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Exports from Japan of agricultural, fishery and other food products continued to swell for the five consecutive years from 2013. In 2017, they increased 7.6% from a year earlier to JPY807.1 billion. The government of Japan is now striving to clear its goal of exporting one-trillion-yen worth of products in 2019. In July, the MAFF agreed with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to enhance their cooperation for increasing exports of agricultural, fishery and other food products.
In the first half, exports of agricultural products were valued at JPY262.8 billion, up 15.1%. Processed products accounted for JPY143 billion, up 18.3%. Alcoholic beverages swelled 11.1% to JPY29.25 billion; in terms of volume, they grew 6% to 82,670 kiloliters. Of them, sake rose 21.8% to JPY10.5 billion, amounting to 13,000 kiloliters, up 14.3%. Soft drinks totaled JPY13.565 billion, up 22.7%, and quantitatively, they increased 12.5% to 54,770 kiloliters.
Exported animal products were priced at JPY20.14 billion, up 19.8%, and weighed 18,909 tons, up 10.4%. Beef was valued at JPY10.83 billion, up 37.4%, totaling 15.44 million tons, up 43.4%. Fruit, vegetables and others amounted to JPY17.345 billion in total, up 29.3%. As for forestry products, JPY18.5 billion worth was exported, up 7.1%. Of them, 4.097 million square meters of plywood was exported, up 10.4%, totaling JPY3.13 billion, up 16.3%. Logs accounted for 587,000 cubic meters in volume, up 22.5%, and JPY7.5 billion in value, up 7.5%. Fishery products were exported at a total price of JPY154.6 billion, up 16.4%. Excluding processed products, they were valued at JPY124 billion, up 19.3%.
The largest destination was Hong Kong, to which JPY98.48 billion worth of agricultural, fishery and other food products were exported, up 17.3% (agricultural products: JPY56 billion). Hong Kong was followed by China, to which JPY65.8 billion worth of products were exported, up 32.1% (agricultural products: JPY31.86 billion). Finishing in third place, exports to the U.S. hiked 5.2% to JPY55.87 billion (agricultural products: JPY39.2 billion). As for other destinations to which exports exceeded JPY10 billion, those to Taiwan were valued at JPY42.1 billion; to South Korea, JPY30.46 billion; to Thailand, JPY22.6 billion; to Vietnam, JPY20.8 billion and to Singapore, JPY13 billion. Exports to the Netherlands improved 2.3% to JPY6.78 billion, while those to Germany surged 12.4% to JPY3.54 billion.
