Shizuoka Prefecture, famed for its tea, has been hosting the triennial World O-CHA (Tea) Festival since 2001. The two-part event features spring and autumn sessions, and this year's edition, the 8th, attracted more than 150,000 visitors.
Because Japan's domestic sales of loose-leaf tea have been in decline, national and local officials have joined forces to increase production and exports of high-value green and black tea. Their effort might be helping. In 2021 Japan exported a record 20.4 billion yen worth of tea (about $147.5 million), up 26.1% from the previous year.
In years past, the festival exhibitors packed up their stands after the four-day event. But this year, as the doors closed on October 28, Japan’s Tea Export Promotion Council sent the program on to Malaysia for another 30 days through November 30.
Malaysia is a promising market for green tea but does not rank among Japan’s top five tea trading partners. To increase awareness, the Export Promotion Council partnered with Secai Marche, a Selangor-based digital marketplace selling foods to hotel and restaurant chefs. Secai Marche has encouraged Japanese suppliers to showcase teas at its Japanese Week events.
Malaysian café owners, coffee shops, restaurant chefs, and bartenders responded by offering special drinks and foods featuring tea as an ingredient. Retail customers are encouraged to enter a contest to win prized premium teas.
Secai Marche’s mission is to help make small-scale farms economically viable and sustainable through improved access to Southeast Asia's growing consumer market.
The Export Council reports, "Restaurants and cafes participating in the promotion draw inspiration from the specialty teas, imported directly from specific farms in Japan by Secai Marche, to create limited edition food and beverages that fit naturally into their menus.”
Tea production has steadily declined in Japan as tea drinkers have switched to ready-to-drink brews, a category more popular than soda. Production dropped 15% in 2020 to 70,000 metric tons. In contrast, since 2015, organic production has steadily increased from 2,610 metric tons to 6,780 metric tons.
The United States is now Japan’s top tea trading partner, accounting for 10.3 billion yen in 2021, or about half of all tea export revenue. During the current year through September, the U.S. imported 2 million kilograms of Japanese tea valued at $70.8 million, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. The full-year total last year was 2.66 million kilograms, up from 2.17 million kilograms in 2020.