The Import-Export Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) quoted statistics from the Japanese Customs Agency as saying that the import value of bananas (HS 0803) of Japan in the first eight months of 2022 reached 728.7 thousand tons, worth 80.2 billion yen (equivalent to 539.3 million USD), down 3.3% in volume but up 4.9% in value over the same period in 2021. The average price of imported bananas reached 110 thousand yen/ton, up 8.5% over the same period in 2021.

Increasing market share of Vietnamese bananas in the Japanese market

Japan imported the most variety of bananas from the Philippines market in the first eight months of 2022, reaching 557 thousand tons, worth 80.2 billion yen (equivalent to 418.1 million USD), down 0.6% in volume. , but increased 5.2% in value over the same period in 2021. The average import price reached 109.6 thousand yen/ton, up 5.8% over the same period in 2021.

The proportion of bananas imported from the Philippines market accounted for 77.8% of the total import volume. Followed by markets such as Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Vietnam...

Notably, while banana imports from major markets all decreased in volume, imports from Vietnam, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand and Laos increased in the first eight months of 2022.

In which, banana imports from Vietnam reached 5.7 thousand tons, worth 687.9 million yen (equivalent to 4.6 million USD), up 20.1% in volume and 37.7% in value. compared to the same period in 2021.

The proportion of imports from Vietnam accounted for only 0.8% of the total amount of bananas imported into Japan, up 0.2 percentage points over the same period in 2021.

Began to be imported into Japan since 2013, but one of the important factors for a market to accept the import of Vietnamese fruit is that the production and plant protection process must achieve international safety certification. . Along with that, the raw material area must be assigned a planting area code and a packing facility code.

Consumers in Japan do not pay too much attention to the price, but they choose because of the quality of the product and whether the product is delicious or not. According to experts, Japan is a difficult market, but once it has conquered this market, Vietnamese fruits, including bananas, are reputable enough to enter other markets more conveniently.

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan, not only bananas but many other agricultural products and foodstuffs of Vietnam have gained trust in the Japanese market, in which, quality assurance is an important factor to ensure the quality of goods. Vietnamese goods can create their own brands, competing with goods from many other countries.

Although Vietnam's market share of bananas (HS 0803) in Japan's total imports increased, the amount of banana imports from Vietnam is still low, while this is the most consumed fruit compared to other types of fruit. other fruit in Japan.

According to Reuters, Japanese households spend an average of 4,387 yen (equivalent to 29.9 USD) on bananas a year. Therefore, there are still many opportunities to expand Vietnam's banana market share in the Japanese market .