Global matcha demand pushes seasonal Uji tea turnover to record ¥12.94 billion

Seasonal turnover sets a new record

Continued global demand for matcha pushed turnover at the Uji tea market to ¥12.94 billion this season, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. The result substantially exceeded the previous record of ¥9.629 billion set a year earlier, underscoring the growing value of matcha raw material within one of Japan’s best-known tea-producing regions.

The season opened with the first auction on April 24 and ended with the final auction on July 31 at the JA Zen-Noh Kyoto Uji Tea Distribution Center in Joyo, Kyoto Prefecture. First-flush tea, harvested early in the season and marketed as new tea, accounted for the main part of trading.

Tencha volume and prices reach highs

Tencha, the shade-grown tea processed into matcha, dominated the market. Combined hand-picked and machine-harvested tencha volume reached 595 tonnes, the largest quantity recorded since the market opened in 1974. This expansion indicates that growers are directing more fields and harvesting capacity toward the category benefiting most directly from international matcha demand.

Machine-harvested tencha alone generated turnover of ¥10.101 billion. Its average price reached ¥17,250 per kilogram, the highest level in records dating from 1996. The figures show that additional supply did not prevent prices from rising: demand was strong enough to absorb record market volume while supporting a historically high unit price.

Other tea categories face tighter supply

The expansion of tencha came at the expense of other varieties. Production declined for gyokuro and sencha, as well as kabusecha, whose flavor lies between those two categories, and bancha. Average prices for these teas increased by roughly 30% to more than double their year-earlier levels, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

This reallocation creates a two-sided market for Japanese tea businesses. Matcha producers and processors gain access to a larger tencha crop, but they must pay record prices for machine-harvested material. Dealers and buyers of traditional leaf teas face reduced availability and much higher procurement costs, potentially forcing price increases further down the supply chain.

Affordability becomes the next constraint

The figures also expose a risk for domestic consumption. Naoharu Yano, 48, chairman of Kyoto Midorikai, an association of tea wholesalers in Kyoto Prefecture, warned that consumers could move away from tea if they were no longer able to buy it at an appropriate price.

For exporters and international buyers, the record season confirms that global matcha demand is reshaping production decisions in Uji. Yet the rise in tencha output has not removed the supply constraint, while reduced production of gyokuro, sencha, kabusecha and bancha is spreading inflation across the broader tea market. Future growth will therefore depend not only on expanding matcha capacity, but also on whether producers can protect the supply and affordability of Japan’s other tea categories.