Japan: Rising imports of EU pork products

In the first 7 months of 2017, the share of Japan in EU exports was 12 % compared to China´s 36 %. However, in the same period, EU exports to Japan increased by 6 % while China´s fell by 33 %. The EU is already the largest supplier of pork products to Japan (36 % market share in the first 7 months of 2017), followed by the US (29 %) and Canada (23 %). This position should be strengthened once the recently agreed Economic Partnership Agreement is implemented, as tariffs will be significantly reduced.

Japan imports mostly pigmeat unlike China where imports of offal are historically larger. However, EU offal exports to Japan have risen more significantly than those of pigmeat: in 2016, offal shipments increased by 44 %, and in the first 7 months of 2017 they increased by 82 % compared to 2016.