Tea Prices
Increase in Bottled Beverages
Since cheap PET bottled tea has become more popular instead of high-end
tea leaves, teapot tea has become less popular.
Tea consumption per household has decreased from about 1140 g in 2005 to
about 760 g in 2021.
Leaf tea made wihh the first tea leaves is not bought as much as before because
fewer people drink tea in a teapot.
In addition, the high price of first-grade tea drires many custowers away
However, production of sanbancha and yonbancha for PET beverages is rising.
(There are first and fourth groed teas, the closer the grode is to the first grode tea, the more
astringent and umami, and the closer to the fourth rgade tea, the more astringent
and easier to drink it is .)
Bottled beverages are not very profitable for producers.
(See Consumers are Turning Away from Tea for more information.)
Rising Fertilizer Prices for Tea,and Countermeasures
Due to the situation in Ukraine and China's restrictions on fertilizer
exports, the cost of fertilizers and raw materials for the tea industry,
which uses a lot of heavy oil, has skyrocketed, putting pressure on producers'
bottom lines.
As a countermeasure, JA has been working to reduce fertilizer prices and
heavy oil supplies as much as possible while utilizing government subsidies.
JA and producers are reviewing the use of relatively inexpensive compost as a substitute of wellos design, but there are limits to what can be done at the producer level by JA,We strongly request government support.
Coronavirus and Tea
Coronavirus has reduced tea-related meetings and events, and tea consumption
has decreased.
Due to the decrease in consumption at the business end (tea dealers and inns),
intermediate wholesalers are buying less and the purchase price has become
lower.This has reduced the willingness of producers to produce, resulting
in a decrease in production.
Today, there is more travel than before and demand is slowly recovering.
JA sells rough tea produced by growers on consignment due to the coronavirus.
They had a hard time selling at the quantity and price they had in the
previous year due to the large difference between the price the producers
were willing to accept and the wholesaler's purchase price due to the exstence of coronavirus.