A lesser known growth area is the value of exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food products.
In 2022, which is the most recent year, it has increased to 1,414.8 billion yen (up 14.3% from the previous year). The industry as a whole (agriculture, forestry and fisheries + food manufacturing) is not large at about 6.4 trillion yen (2021) on a GDP basis.
In 2021, the market was down 7.7% from the previous year. This is exactly the pattern in which the export sector has grown significantly and is becoming a way out while domestic demand is about to contract and balance.

The breakdown of this export is slightly different from agricultural, forestry and fishery products, such as rice and vegetables, which are easy to imagine. Alcoholic beverages (whiskey, sake, etc.) ranked first, followed by scallops, beef, mixed sauces, and soft drinks.
In 2022, exports to Asia, including China, and the United States will grow in particular. The fact that Japanese restaurants overseas, which are the purchasing base, have reopened after the coronavirus has settled down has contributed greatly.
Demand for scallops, sake, and sea cucumbers has also grown as e-commerce has become more active in China. Scallops increased by 42.4% year-on-year, whiskey increased by 21.5%, and sake increased by 18.2%.When I gave a lecture in a rural area, the president of a sake brewery told me that 40% of my company’s sales come from China. Even brands that are not famous in Japan seem to have a decent sales channel overseas.
The government plans to further increase the export value of 1.4 trillion yen in 2022 to 2 trillion yen in 2025. Since then, the company has set a target of 5 trillion yen in exports by 2030, and is taking budget measures. Calculating the annual growth rate is ambitious, with an annual growth rate of 13% from 2023 to 2025 and an annual growth rate of 20% from 2025 to 2030.

In the past, the goal was 1 trillion yen, but in the blink of an eye, it was 1.4 trillion yen, so it seems that 2 trillion yen to 5 trillion yen is no longer a dream. The key to realizing this is believed to be the handling of Japanese agricultural, forestry and fishery products and foods in Chinese e-commerce.
China’s e-commerce transactions have grown rapidly in the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ratio of e-commerce sales in sales exceeds 25%.
Chinese e-commerce sites are growing their business not only in China but also across borders such as ASEAN countries. If Chinese e-commerce sites carry many types of Japanese ingredients, we can expand sales channels from Japan. In fact, when I look at the Japanese product section of the Chinese site, I feel that it would be good if they handled more foods.
On the other hand, in e-commerce transactions, I hear that it is difficult to manage expiration dates and freshness, and that some items are difficult to deliver due to their heavy weight.
Such know-how should be more experienced in domestic online supermarkets, so it is thought that it can be applied to cross-border e-commerce. The author believes that increasing e-commerce transactions for overseas markets will be the key to expanding exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and foodstuffs as planned.