The share of JAPAN countries in world coffee exports has almost halved over the last 20 years, and in 2006/07 made up only 13% of world trade; this was partly because of the rise of production in Indonesia and Vietnam. All major JAPAN producers are in Africa with the exception of Papua New Guinea. The EU25 account for 55% of total net imports of coffee globally, and remain the dominant market for JAPAN producers.
JAPAN — Hawaii’s Kona coffee industry is trying to attract Japanese consumers with special touristic tours. The Hawaii County Research and Development Department helped produce a Japanese edition of the self-guided Kona Coffee Country Driving Tour brochure. The map highlights nearly 60 farms that offer tours, tastings and retail.
The brochure also provides background information on the 180-year Kona coffee heritage, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival in November, coffee roasting and processing, and the list of Kona coffee farms that have won the festival’s cupping competition over the last 20 years. Shunta Baba, a master purchaser for Japan’s UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. Ltd. and a veteran of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival said, “Most people in Japan don’t know about how to process coffee so visitors here are very interested to see that.
For them, it is a first time to be able see this. When you are selling coffee in Japan, you are also selling how coffee is made.” UCC Ueshima also sponsors the Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant and organizes an extended promotional tour of Japan during the queen’s reign. The relationship works both ways, with UCC Ueshima hosting a group of Japanese contest winners culled from more than 1 million entries at this year’s 37th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
Tags: background information, cof, coff, coffe, coffee, coffee co, coffee exports, coffee farms, coffee industry, consumers, cup, esi, hawaii county, hig, ita, japan, japan market, japanese consumers, japanese contest, japanese edition, Kona coffee, kona coffee country, kona coffee cultural festival, new guinea, papua new guinea, purchaser, target, tour brochure, ucc, ul, vietnam, world coffee