Japan’s Wine Imports Jump 12% in 2021
Japan’s wine importation grew by 12% in 2021 compared to the level seen in 2020.
Data culled from the Customs and Tariff Bureau of the Finance Ministry showed that the country bought 187 billion yen (US$1.6 billion) worth of wines from overseas.
Importation was lifted mainly by the increase in imported French wines, which jumped 21% in value to 110 billion yen.
In the year, Italy became the second biggest wine exporter to Japan, delivering 14% more wines or 22 billion yen compared to the past year.
Chilean wines got booted to the third spot after declining 18% in import value to 16 billion yen.
Spain switched places with the United States for fourth place following a 16% rise in exportation to 13.5 billion yen. The latter’s wine exports fell by 5% to 12.5 billion yen.
Wines from Australia, Germany, and New Zealand all saw annual growth, climbing 6%, 23% and 5%, respectively.
South African wines also replaced Argentinian wines for the ninth biggest wine import as they rose by 7% to 1.1 billion yen. In tenth place, wines from Argentina went down 9% to 1.03 billion yen.
In terms of bottled wines, sparkling wines expanded by 24% in the year to 71.5 billion yen. Fortified wines dropped 9% to 480 million yen while imported wine bottles of over 2 liters but less than 10 liters went up 13% to 2.8 billion yen.
In December alone, Japan bought 15.4 billion yen, increasing by 13% over the same month’s record in the previous year.
Japan’s Top 10 Wine Exporters in 2021 vs 2020
| Rank | Country | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| 1 | France | 110,089,856,000 yen | 91,267,977,000 yen | +21% |
| 2 | Chile | 16,170,694,000 yen | 19,654,250,000 yen | -18% |
| 3 | Italy | 22,095,251,000 yen | 19,450,510,000 yen | +14% |
| 4 | United States | 12,572,640,000 yen | 13,291,086,000 yen | -5% |
| 5 | Spain | 13,496,820,000 yen | 11,640,299,000 yen | +16% |
| 6 | Australia | 4,508,616,000 yen | 4,263,420,000 yen | +6% |
| 7 | Germany | 2,196,745,000 yen | 1,793,058,000 yen | +23% |
| 8 | New Zealand | 1,304,858,000 yen | 1,246,409,000 yen | +5% |
| 9 | Argentina | 1,031,934,000 yen | 1,137,319,000 yen | -9% |
| 10 | South Africa | 1,116,426,000 yen | 1,044,620,000 yen | +7% |
| Total | 187,330,586,000 yen | 167,120,820,000 yen | +12% |
Bottled Wine Categories in 2021 vs 2020
| Bottled Wine Size | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| Sparkling | 71,589,041,000 yen | 57,702,108,000 yen | +24% |
| Fortified | 480,735,000 yen | 527,504,000 yen | -9% |
| More than 2 l but less than 10 l | 2,759,122,000 yen | 2,447,553,000 yen | +13 |
Japan’s Top 10 Wine Exporters in December 2021 vs 2020
| Rank | Country | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| 1 | France | 8,697,475,000 yen | 6,977,114,000 yen | +25% |
| 2 | Italy | 1,602,677,000 yen | 1,501,096,000 yen | +7% |
| 3 | Chile | 1,472,123,000 yen | 1,494,409,000 yen | -1% |
| 4 | Spain | 1,181,421,000 yen | 995,474,000 yen | +19% |
| 5 | United States | 1,151,179,000 yen | 1,547,803,000 yen | +26% |
| 6 | Australia | 398,347,000 yen | 415,931,000 yen | -4% |
| 7 | Germany | 263,190,000 yen | 234,680,000 yen | +12% |
| 8 | South Africa | 119,611,000 yen | 108,647,000 yen | +10% |
| 9 | Argentina | 112,954,000 yen | 76,216,000 yen | +48% |
| 10 | Portugal | 109,723,000 yen | 45,447,000 yen | +141% |
| Total | 15,418,548,000 yen | 13,637,375,000 yen | +13% |
Bottled Wine Categories in December 2021 vs 2020
| Bottled Wine Size | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| Sparkling | 6,221,111,000 yen | 5,026,828,000 yen | +24% |
| Fortified | 46,602,000 yen | 40,402,000 yen | +15% |
| More than 2 l but less than 10 l | 287,728,000 yen | 132,410,000 yen | +13 |
