Matcha shortage push prices up

Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs amid booming global demand for the trendy beverage.

The Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan’s production of tencha— the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha — was hit by severe heat waves last summer during Japan’s hottest year on record, which led to weak yields in the recent April-May harvest.

Global demand for matcha has surged in recent years, driven by millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices, with hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts.The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas.

Japan produced 5,336 tons of tencha in 2024, anearly 2.7-fold increase from 10 years earlier. Japan’s green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25 per cent by value to ¥36.4 billion (RM1 billion) in 2024,driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha.

By volume, Japan’s green tea exports rose 16 per cent.Tencha prices have climbed to record highs, with a May auction in Kyoto fetching ¥8,235 per kg, a 170 percent increase from a year earlier and well above the previous record of ¥4,862 set in 2016.

Source: Malay mail (Extracts), Courtesy: Tea Exporters’ Association Sri Lanka