Japan increases the importation of Vietnamese coffee

As reported by the International Trade Centre (ITC), Japan’s coffee imports in the 11 months of 2020 reached 371,100 tons, valued at US$ 1.08 billion, down 11.5% in volume and 7.5% in value over the same period in 2019.

In the previous year, Japan reduces its importation of coffee from almost all supply markets, including Brazil, which is the biggest coffee exporter of the world and Japan’s biggest coffee supply source.

In the 11 months of 2020, Japan’s coffee imports from Brazil reached 103,800 tons, valued at US$ 271.35 million, 29.3% lower in volume and 27.7% in value compared to the same period in 2019. Due to the mentioned drastic decrease, the market share of Brazil in Japan’s total import volume of coffee only accounts for 27.97% of the 11 months of 2020, much lower than the 35% rate of the 11 months of 2019.

While having a sharp decrease from Brazil and many other countries, Japan increases its coffee importation from Vietnam. Japan’s coffee imports from Vietnam in the 11 months of 2020 reached 97,000 tons, valued at US$ 162.31 million, up 16.9% in volume and 20.8% in value over the same period in 2019. As a result of this growth, the market share of Vietnamese coffee in the total coffee import volume of Japan has reached 26.15% in the 11 months of 2020, much higher compared to the 19.8% rate of the 11 months of 2019.

According to several Vietnamese coffee experts, by virtue of the strong flavor, the rich aroma and the cheap price, Vietnamese Robusta coffee is gradually establishing its presence in the Japanese market, thereby threatening Brazil’s position as the biggest coffee exporter to Japan.

On the other hand, the closeness in geographical position helps Vietnam’s Robusta coffee have the upper hand in the Japanese market because the coffee transport route from Vietnam to Japan is only half as long as the Arabica coffee transport route from Latin American countries.

Among the countries that produce coffee in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is the one country that guarantees a stable supply due to large output. This is also a good opportunity for Vietnamese coffee in the Japanese market.

The rising demand for using Robusta coffee in Japan is, at the same time, a certain advantage for the increase in the importation of Vietnam’s Robusta coffee to this market. It is because, for many years, Vietnam has always been the biggest Robusta coffee producer in the world.