Japan Matcha Market Updates

Oita, Japan Expands Matcha Production Amid Global Boom

Jun 20 2026

Oita, Japan Is Expanding Matcha Production to Meet Surging Global Demand

If you import Japanese matcha wholesale for your café or food business, recent developments in Japan's tea-producing regions deserve your close attention. According to Japan's Ministry of Finance trade statistics released in May 2026, exports of green tea — including matcha — reached 12,612 metric tons in 2025, tripling over the past decade. This unprecedented boom is now reshaping Japan's domestic tea industry, from rural farms in Oita Prefecture all the way to specialty tea shops in city centers.

For U.S. importers sourcing wholesale matcha from Japan, understanding these supply dynamics is essential for planning procurement, managing costs, and maintaining product consistency. This article breaks down what is happening on the ground in Japan right now.

Record Tourism in Oita Fuels Matcha Demand

Oita Prefecture — best known internationally for the hot spring resort town of Yufuin (Yufu City) — recorded a historic high of approximately 1.2 million foreign overnight visitors in 2025. Matcha drink specialty shops in Yufuin now draw long lines of foreign tourists from the moment they open in the morning. Visitors frequently cite the delicate sweetness and distinct flavor of matcha as the main reason they seek it out.

This surge in visitor demand reflects a broader global trend: international consumers are no longer treating matcha as a novelty. It has become an everyday ingredient for cafés, bakeries, and foodservice operators worldwide. The on-the-ground enthusiasm in popular Japanese travel destinations like Yufuin makes clear that matcha is now firmly embedded in global food culture.

Oita's Tencha Farmers: Expanding from the Ground Up

Matcha is made from a specialty tea leaf called tencha (碾茶) — shade-grown, unrolled, and stone-ground into a fine powder. Unlike sencha (煎茶, standard steamed green tea), tencha leaves are covered with shade sheets before harvest to boost chlorophyll and amino acid content, then dried without rolling before being ground into matcha powder.

In Oita's Kitsuki City, producer Yuji Takayama (57), director of the Kitsuki Tea Producers' Association, began cultivating tencha eight years ago, anticipating the rise in global demand. He converted previously abandoned tea fields — land that had not been farmed in years — into tencha plots. "The leaves turn from yellow to deep green," he explained, "and we harvest them and bring them to the factory where they become tencha." His foresight is now paying off, as demand from overseas buyers continues to accelerate. Oita Prefecture currently has only a handful of tencha-growing farms, but efforts like Takayama's signal the beginning of a broader regional expansion in Japanese matcha supply.

Matcha Prices Rising 2.5x — and Retailers Are Feeling It

The supply-demand imbalance has driven prices sharply higher across the supply chain. At Wakataké-en, a tea specialty retailer in Oita City, the retail price of matcha has risen 2.5 times compared to autumn 2024. The store has been forced to limit the quantity sold per customer because overall stock availability is constrained. Store president Shintaro Maki said the refrigerator that once displayed matcha on the shop floor now sits empty — matcha is kept in a separate refrigerator in limited quantities due to purchase restrictions.

Menu prices for matcha-based items — zenzai (ぜんざい, sweet red bean soup served with matcha) and soft-serve ice cream — have also been raised by approximately 10% compared to summer 2025. "Matcha prices will probably not come down again," Maki noted. "I expect this situation to continue for the foreseeable future." For cafés and importers relying on matcha wholesale pricing stability, this is a critical signal: the era of low-cost matcha procurement may be over.

A Ripple Effect: Sencha Prices Are Rising Too

One of the less-discussed consequences of the matcha boom is its effect on sencha (煎茶) — the everyday steamed green tea that most Japanese households drink daily. Because tencha and sencha are harvested from the same tea plant (Camellia sinensis), many farmers are switching their fields from sencha to the more profitable tencha production. The result: sencha supply is shrinking, and its price is rising alongside matcha.

Wakataké-en's Maki expressed concern about this ripple effect: "We still don't know when sencha will arrive, or how much. We want to source it at a price that keeps customers from turning away from tea — while maintaining the aroma and flavor they expect." For buyers sourcing Japanese matcha wholesale, this broader tightening of the Japanese tea market is important context. It means supply constraints are not limited to matcha alone; the entire premium green tea supply chain is under pressure.

What This Means for U.S. Café Owners and Importers

Japan's tea industry is at a major turning point. The global matcha boom is generating revenue and reviving abandoned farmland, but it is also creating real challenges: price volatility, quantity restrictions at the retail and wholesale levels, and a structural shift away from traditional green tea production. For U.S. food businesses that depend on a reliable flow of authentic Japanese matcha, now is the time to build strong supplier relationships and plan procurement further in advance.

Prices are unlikely to fall — industry insiders expect elevated matcha prices to persist long-term.
Supply is tight — even established retailers in Japan are operating under quantity limits.
New regions are expanding — areas like Oita Prefecture are investing in tencha cultivation to meet global demand.
Act early — locking in volume with a trusted Japanese matcha wholesale supplier is a smart hedge against further tightening.

Working directly with a dedicated wholesale matcha from Japan partner — rather than relying on spot purchases — gives your business the price predictability and supply continuity it needs in this volatile market.