Matcha is drawing worldwide demand, but supply shortages are deepening. With overseas producers also gaining ground, Japan's tea industry faces mounting concerns.
Record Exports, Yet Shortages Force Products Off Shelves
Japan's matcha exports have grown sharply since 2025, when the drink's popularity spread among younger consumers, the Sankei Shimbun reported on the 23rd. Exports reached 72.1 billion yen (about 605.1 billion won) last year, double the previous year's total and the highest on record. In the January-May period this year, 40.2 billion yen worth was shipped abroad, exceeding the same period a year earlier.
Foreign tourists and overseas buyers are flocking to major producing areas such as Uji in Kyoto Prefecture. Wakei, a premium product from Kyoei Seicha, a 190-year-old tea company, sells for 100 to 120 yen per gram, yet some buyers are purchasing dozens of 30-gram cans at a time. The company's matcha sales have risen three- to fourfold from a decade ago, setting record highs.
Production capacity, however, is weakening relative to the pace of demand growth. Meiji, a major Japanese food company, halted sales of its popular Meiji Essel Super Cup Matcha in August. The product, launched in 2002, had been a long-running seller, but the company could not secure enough matcha to sustain supply.
Farmers and Tea Bushes Are Both Aging
Japan's main tea-growing area shrank to 25,400 hectares last year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported recently. If the decline continues, the area could contract to about 5,000 hectares by 2050, a drop of more than 80% from current levels, according to some projections.
Behind the trend are the aging of the rural population and a shortage of successors. "Low tea leaf prices made it difficult for farming families to pass the business on to their children, and as a result the workforce has aged," said Yoshida Riichi, chairman of the Kyoto Prefecture Tea Producers' Council.
The aging of tea bushes is also cited as a factor dragging down productivity. Tea plants are generally able to yield commercial-grade leaves for about 35 years, after which both volume and quality are likely to decline. About 40% of Japan's tea fields are already planted with bushes more than 30 years old.
Expanding Output Is Difficult, and Rivals Are Catching Up
The structure of production also makes it hard to raise output quickly. Tea bushes need three to four years from planting to harvest. Tencha, the raw leaf used for matcha, requires more demanding cultivation and processing than sencha, the leaf used for ordinary green tea.
The Japanese government is supporting sencha farmers who switch to tencha production, but analysts say farmers are reluctant to invest because it is unclear whether the boom will last.
Taking advantage of the gap, China, India and other countries are expanding production, intensifying competition in the global market.
The Japanese government has stepped up support for farmers. Hamadasaen, a matcha exporter, invested 600 million yen (about 5.2 billion won) in March to build a new plant capable of producing 200 tons a year. Analysts say how quickly Japan can rebuild its production base will determine who leads the market as demand surges.