Welcome to Issue #94 of SIN.
The heat is still on as the country slides through O-Bon season, a time of year when many head back to their hometown to pay respect to passed family members and ancestors.
It also means school holidays so there are a lot of people out and about at this time of year. Throw into the mix an impending typhoon to wreak havoc with train and plane schedules and you've got a week of chaos blended with uncertainty.
Fingers crossed the typhoon passes with little impact, as many of them do. I think everyone is done with natural disasters for the year.
And now for the news...
Exports Go Up, Exports Go Down
Japan- According to trade data compiled by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the export of sake has been growing for the last 13 years, however from January to May 2023 new data has revealed a 13.1% decline with USA exports down by 34% and Hong Kong by 19%.
In the same period last year, exports grew rapidly following the distribution crisis of the COVID pandemic, and it seems this year's data is showing the reaction to the sudden growth. In addition, some of the major export-market countries are going through economic difficulties.
Even Dassai from Asahi Shuzō, which has long been a strong brand in overseas markets, showed decline compared to the same period in 2022.
However, duty-free sales recovered dramatically to cover the decline of export, to the degree that overall totals for export and duty free combined has come out higher this year than 2022.
Asahi Shuzō reported that sake export still looks promising in the future, however as the US suffers from inflation and China's restaurant distribution is slowing due to sluggish economic growth, exports will sit low for now.
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