Import volumes of bananas and avocados saw an increase in Japan from January to June 2018 when compared to the same period the year prior, according to data from Japan customs and Tokyo Seika.
During this period, banana supply favoured the Philippines who gained an additional 5 per cent of the market share, taken from Ecuador who saw a similar decline.
Avocados were up 6 per cent, and bananas 4 per cent, while table grapes saw a significant increase of 7 per cent in volume. Australia dominated the market share for this category, making up 51.2 per cent of supply (up from 42.9 per cent), overtaking Chile who dipped to 43.3 per cent from 52.8 in 2017.
Despite a bit of movement, Jack Moriya of major importer Tokyo Seika told Asiafruit there has been little difference between the 2017 and 2018 numbers for fresh fruit.
While fruit had an overall increase of 2 per cent in volume (and 1 per cent in value) for the six-month period, fresh vegetables were up 7 per cent in volume and 15 per cent in value.
Cabbages were the star product responsible for this jump, and the growth in imports of cabbage (up 76 per cent in volume) was attributed to a poor domestic cabbage crop.
China was the main exporter of cabbage to Japan, supplying 75.5 per cent of the crop.
