Supply/Demand Basics
- Corn use: feed 75%; starch 24%; other food use 1%.
- #2 import market for U.S. corn and U.S. barley, #5 for U.S. sorghum in MY 2018/2019.
- Feed grain imports gradually declining to 12-15 MMT/year from 16 MMT/year.
- Japan imported 560 TMT of U.S. DDGS in MY2018/2019.
- Dry milling sector’s U.S. corn market share keeps 100% in MY 2018/2019.
Country Overview
- Population / growth: 127 million / -0.2%
- Urban % / growth: 94.3% / 0.15%
- GDP / growth: $5.4 trillion / 1.5%
- GDP per capita: $42,700
- Large government debt and stagnant economy; highly subsidized, small agricultural sector; dependent on imported raw materials and fuels.
- Prime Minister Abe holds the Prime Minister position for the seventh year, the second longest after the war.
Trade and Market Share Overview
- Aging population and changing consumer preferences mean little growth in total food demand.
- High health consciousness with relatively high income has led to demand for health-oriented, value-added foods.
- Still committed to buying from U.S. (volume, reliability, origination investments), however Japanese industry beginning to diversify sources of feed ingredient imports.
- 216 million gallons of ethanol blended as ETBE, at 2% blend rate. The U.S. can hold up to 44% market share.
Policy Overview
- U.S.-Japan bilateral trade agreement should be taken as a trigger to revitalize agricultural policy and trade establishment.
- Biotech approval system, while functioning, may not have capacity to handle accelerating applications.
- Japan’s biofuel policy has allowed U.S. bioethanol since 2018.There is a ceiling for the U.S. bioethanol market share at 44.4% due to GHG emission reduction requirement.