(21 April 2015 – New Zealand) There are signs of revival in the high-income Japanese wine market which present opportunities for New Zealand wine producers, according to Rabobank’s latest Wine Quarterly report.
Following the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the Japanese wine market has now ‘come of age’ with the country’s wine drinkers increasingly open to new consumption occasions, wine styles and innovations, the report says.
Emerging indications that white wines are beginning to grow in popularity amongst Japanese wine consumers, albeit from a relatively low base, signal opportunities for New Zealand producers, according to report co-author, Rabobank senior wine analyst Marc Soccio.
Japan ranks as one of the world’s most valuable wine import markets.
Japan has matured into a much more rounded, stable wine market that is increasingly open to exploring what wine the world has to offer, the report says.
It is becoming clear that wine has become less of a novelty in Japan and is steadily edging into the mainstream food and beverage culture of Japanese society,” Soccio said.
“Japanese consumers at large are becoming increasingly exposed and open to foreign cultures and consumer trends.
“At the same time, the Japanese wine market is benefiting from the waning popularity of traditional beverages, such as beer and sake, as both the trade and consumers become more confident in matching wine with local cuisine.”
This growing maturity in the high-value Japanese wine market has led to foreign wine suppliers finding increasing success with more diverse and sophisticated wine offers.
Long considered the domain of Old World wine exporters, particularly France, the Japanese wine market is opening up to New World players.
The Rabobank Wine Quarterly report found that in 2014 New Zealand wine export volumes finished 11 percent higher than the previous year.
Above-average volume growth was recorded to all major markets, with the notable exception of Australia, where export volumes fell by 1 percent over the course of the year.
Japan is a relatively small market for New Zealand wine exporters, ranked 12th largest by volume in 2014.
Total New Zealand wine exports to Japan fell by 1.7 percent in 2014, while white wine export volumes in particular inched ahead by 0.7 percent over the course of the year.