Society | Jan 29

Japan's 2020 wine imports down 7% amid pandemic, but up 4% from Chile

Japan's wine imports in 2020 decreased 7.0 percent from the previous year on a volume basis, as stay-at-home requests amid the novel coronavirus pandemic dampened demand from restaurants and bars, government data showed Thursday.

Meanwhile, imports of Chilean wine, popular for its affordability, grew 4.0 percent, making the South American nation the biggest supplier to Japan for the sixth straight year, according to the Finance Ministry.

Total imports of bottled wine in 2020 fell to 163.90 million liters from the previous year's 176.29 million liters. They rose 6.0 percent in 2019, with imports of European wines soaring as Japan eliminated tariffs on them after signing a free trade deal with the European Union that came into force in February that year.

Among the biggest five wine exporters to Japan in the reporting year, only Chile saw annual growth, increasing to 49.10 million liters from 47.21 million liters.

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