China stumps US to 3rd position in consumption of Japanese wine Sake as top consumer, ends its 8-yr old supremacy

WORLD SAKE DAY SPECIAL: 1st Oct: NEW DELHI: As the interest in Japanese Sake grows worldwide, China has emerged as the highest consumer of Sake pushing its arc competitor USA to 3^rd position in the year 2021. Not only this, China clocked the highest ever import figure of Sake at JY 10.6 billion last year. Hong Kong was the biggest consumer with JY 6.0 billion worth of imports in the previous year (2020). The USA topped the ranking with the highest Sake consumption from 2012 to 2019. However, its highest figure of imports remained restricted to JY 6.7 billion in 2019. India’s current annual consumption hovers at a meagre JY 10 million, just 1% of China.

According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) officials, the USA remained on the top of the importer’s list of Sake from 2012 to 2019 but it was in 2020 when Hong Kong emerged as the biggest importer of Sake from Japan.

“But in 2021, China emerged on the scene as the biggest importer of Sake from Japan, and its figures touched the highest ever volume at JY 10.6 billion. The consumption of Sake is increasing worldwide and some countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan and others have been consuming sake,” Takashi Suzuki, Chief Director-General, JETRO, India told Asian Community News Network in an exclusive interview.

Overall, Asia has been traditionally the major consumer and exports market for Japanese sake, with its market share being almost 60% of the global trade volume in 2019. The USA accounted for about 26% of the overall market.

Some of the new emerging markets for Japanese Sake are India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Related article: Japanese wine Sake (Nihonshu 日本酒) to flow smoothly in India as import restrictions removed

As regards India, the taste of Sake is still evolving amongst the people here. Currently, it is largely consumed by Japanese and Korean natives and is served in Asian restaurants as well as some of the 5-start hotels. The craze for Sake among Indians is slowly picking up with more and more people here learning the Japanese culture as well language, especially the youths. Slowly, serving Japanese sake is also becoming a fashion statement for some Indians connected with Japan and its culture in one way or the other.

According to Mr. Suzuki, Sake is produced in Japan in all its lengths and breadth with many prefectures with their diverse and distinct culture, water taste, and environment.

The steady decline in domestic sake consumption since the 1970s and growing interest among a non-Japanese audience have led to the development of sake for export. The market share of exports, which is the only one currently in growth mode, is still small, totaling just over 5% of national output in 2018. Nevertheless, exports have the potential to leverage growth, with volumes surging by 53% between 2014 and 2019.

JETRO has been promoting sake in India on various platforms to promote its consumption here.

Recently it hosted a Sake tasting session at its office where Sake India Club invited five sake breweries of Japan and made them interact virtually with the sake importers.

These breweries included Tanaka Shuzoten Inc. from Miyagi, Konishi Brewing Co. Ltd from Hyogo, Ito Shuzou Co. Ltd from Mie, Chigonoiwa Sake Brewery Co. Ltd from Gifu, and Yachiya Brewing Co. Ltd from Ishikawa.