TOKYO - October 1 is Sake Day, a busy time of year for sake breweries as they begin to make sake from the newly harvested rice. In the sake industry, there is a period called the brewing year.
Demand for sake has taken on a completely different aspect in Japan and abroad. According to a survey by the National Tax Agency, domestic shipments of sake peaked in 1973, with approximately 190 million 9L cases. However, it has continued to decline since then, reaching 44 million cases (9L equivalent) in 2022, about one-fourth of its peak. However, the major drop in volume was in entry level’s sake, known as Futsu-shu, while the percentage of premium sake, known as Tokuteimeisho-shu, has been relatively increasing, reaching 36% of the total in 2022.
Although domestic shipments of sake overall from January to July 2023 are on a recovery track, approximately +20% year-on-year, due in part to a rebound from the large drop in Covid-19 in 2022, domestic demand is still not as strong as in other categories.
On the other hand, exports reached a record high for the 13th consecutive year, exporting approximately 4 million 9L cases or 47.5 billion yen to 72 countries and regions in FY2022. In terms of volume, this represents 8% of total sake shipments combining both domestic and exports. In addition, the CAGR of export value over the past 10 years from 2013 to 2022 was +18%, with export value expanding 4.5 times over this 10-year period. In addition, the unit export price per 720 ml bottle in 2022 was 953 yen, more than double the 2013 price, indicating that high-quality sake has been actively exported. In addition, in terms of export value by region in 2022, Asia and North America account for 90% of the total, with Asia accounting for 65% and North America 25%, respectively, while Europe accounts for 6%.
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