Coffee 1999
  1. Coffee - Just the thing to wake you up in the morning or when you want to put your feet up and relax. Now an integral part of the Japanese diet, coffee is a popular tasty drink made from the seed of the coffee tree, i.e. the coffee bean.
  2. A favorite around the world as well as in Japan, coffee is thought to have been discovered by a shepherd in Ethiopia around the 6th century, and was initially drunk as a stimulant to ward off drowsiness. It was subsequently brought to the Arabian Peninsula by emigrants, from where it then gradually spread to India, Indonesia and Latin America.
  3. Although only a little of this coffee originating in Africa had been transplanted to Ceylon, India, Goa and Yemen by the end of the 17th century, it was from about this time that its value came to be recognized around the world. The scramble for colonies by the Western European powers resulted in it being grown in the tropics of the New World, and in the 18th and 19th centuries cultivation spread to the areas of production we know today. Brazil became the largest coffee producer, followed by Colombia. The tropics of North and South America are also ideal coffee producing regions, and production began in countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. Blue mountain is prized for its flavor. In the East Indies, the Dutch were quick to begin cultivation on a commercial basis. Mandheling coffee from Java, Arabia, and Sumatra is also highly rated. Other famous coffees include fine quality Indian coffee and Myanmar mocha.
  4. The first coffee to be traded as a spot commodity on the world markets is supposed to have been shipped from Mocha to the Netherlands by the Dutch in 1616.
  5. Although it is unclear exactly when coffee first arrived in Japan, it appears to have been brought by the Dutch to Dejima in Nagasaki (when Japan was closed to the outside world) at some point during the 17h century. Imports of coffee beans were first officially allowed into Japan in 1868. Coffee was first drunk at court, social gatherings among the upper classes and hotels where foreigners stayed, and subsequently gradually gained in popularity among other classes. With the appearance of coffee-flavored milk in 1957, consumption began to switch from the coffee shop, where coffee was traditionally drunk, to the home. Coffee bean imports were liberalized in 1960, and home consumption began to boom in 1961 with the liberalization of the instant coffee market.
  6. Coffee cultivation was attempted by the Japanese before the Second World War in places such as Taiwan, Ogasawara and Okinawa, but these efforts ended in failure due to the effects of rust (a disease which causes orange or brown pustules to appear on the leaves and stalks of affected plants). Trial cultivation took place after the war on the Amami Islands, but the plants were poorly nurtured and their quality poor, and coffee is now only grown for ornamental reasons.
  7. All the coffee now consumed in Japan is therefore imported. The majority is imported in the form of raw beans, which are roasted, ground and shipped onto the market, and imports of roasted beans, instant coffee and coffee extract are relatively small in comparison.
    Imports in recent years have been as follows:


    		1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
    Raw beans 96,333 102,510 97,955 129,675 133,992
    Regular coffee 1,728 2,130 3,463 2,643 2,815
    Instant coffee 5,174 6,268 6,056 5,945 9,430
    Coffee extract/essence
    		 5,428 6,405 7,665 9,020 7,211
    Total 108,663 118,535 116,529 148,422 153,447
    (Unit: million yen; Source: Japan Trade Monthly)

  8. Coffee bean prices fluctuate violently due to the climate in production regions overseas. The main areas of production lie in developing countries on the "coffee belt" 25 degrees north and south of the equator, and as developed countries account for a large proportion of consumption, coffee is regarded as one commodity emblematic of the North-South divide. Japan is the world's third largest importer after the United States and Germany.
  9. Due to its pale green color, the raw coffee bean is also called "green coffee". Broadly speaking, it comes in three types: Arabica coffee (originally from Ethiopia, it accounts for around two thirds of world output, and has a sour taste and aroma); Robusta (originally from the Congo, it accounts for around one third of would output, and has a strong bitter flavor and more body); and Liberica (originally from West Africa and produced in very few places, where it is consumed).
  10. Japan imports raw coffee beans from over 40 countries. The main sources of imports, which account for around 60% of the total in terms of volume, are Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia. Cheap "robster" varieties from Indonesia are common. Regular coffee generally comes from the USA and UK, while coffee extract and essence are imported chiefly from Brazil.
    The main sources of imports are as follows:
    1. Raw beans

      		1996 1997 1998
      Brazil 21,477 31,647 32,300 (24.1%)
      Colombia 23,452 30,807 28,859 (21.5%)
      Indonesia 13,522 15,880 15,564 (11.6%)
      Guatemala 5,530 7,546 9,383 (7.0%)
      Ethiopia 5,856 7,503 8,997 (6.7%)
      Others 28,118 36,291 38,889 (29.1%)

    2. Regular coffee

      		1996 1997 1998
      USA 1,191 902 1,038 (36.9%)
      UK 500 647 933 (33.2%)
      Belgium 341 217 223 (7.9%)
      Italy 99 179 143 (5.1%)
      Switzerland 93 107 114 (4.0%)
      Others 1,240 591 363 (12.8%)
      (Unit: million yen; Source: Japan Trade Monthly)
  11. Raw beans used as a raw material for making other products are almost entirely imported. Regular coffee and instant coffee are almost entirely produced domestically from imported raw materials. The share of imports in the domestic market is as follows:
    1. Regular coffee

      		1995 1996 1997
      Domestic products 138,111 137,726 138,410
      Imports 2,131 3,338 1,795
      Share of imports 1.5% 2.4% 1.3%

    2. Instant coffee

      		1995 1996 1997
      Domestic products 32,286 35,055 33,157
      Imports 6,268 6,056 5,945
      Share of imports 16.3% 14.7% 15.2%
      (Unit: tons; Source: Japan Trade Monthly)
  12. At the point of import, coffee is covered by the provisions of the Food Hygiene Law. Raw coffee beans are also covered by the Plant Protection Law. When sold, coffee is subject to controls under the Food Hygiene Law, the Measurement Law, and local government ordinances. There is in addition self-regulation by the industry in the form of the Rules on Fair Competition Concerning Regular Coffee and Instant Coffee.
  13. Regular coffee used to be used chiefly for commercial purposes, but is now also used in the home due to factors such as the impact of cassette-type packs of regular coffee given as gifts. Instant coffee dominates the market for coffee for home consumption, but its predominance is beginning to be challenged by regular coffee. According to statistics from All Japan Coffee Association, regular and instant coffee are used as follows:
    1. Regular coffee (mostly produced domestically from imported raw materials)
      Commercial use: Approx. 40% (coffee shops, food service industry, hotels, etc.)
      Processing: Approx. 30% (as raw material for canned coffee and iced coffee)
      Home use: Approx. 30%
    2. Instant coffee (over 80% produced domestically from imported raw materials, 20% imported)
      Commercial use: Slightly under 30% (for coffee sold through vending machines, manufacture of pharmaceuticals, etc.)
      Home use: Slightly over 70%

  14. Japan exports very little coffee. Roasted coffee exports to places such as China and Taiwan amount to around ¥25 million, and exports of coffee extract to places such as Taiwan, the USA and South Korea come to no more than ¥500 million.


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