Society

Japan's 2020 spaghetti imports hit record amid virus crisis

Jan 11 (Japan Times) - Japan’s imports of spaghetti, which is easy to cook, hit a record high in 2020, apparently due to people refraining from going out amid the novel coronavirus crisis.

According to preliminary data from Yokohama Customs, spaghetti imports in the first 11 months of last year totaled 154,505 tons, already exceeding the previous annual record high of 138,037 tons, marked in 2017, by about 10%. With spaghetti remaining highly popular, imports are expected to continue growing, officials of the customs office said.

At supermarkets and other shops, sales of spaghetti have been expanding since March last year, when the coronavirus started to spread in Japan. Imports, mainly from Italy, posted double-digit, year-on-year growth each month between March and September.

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