Japan's imports of agricultural products have far exceeded its exports and are likely to further increase due to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (the «TPP»), on which twelve countries including the United States and Japan reached a broad agreement to lower trade barriers on October 5. In order to mitigate concerns of farmers, the Japanese government announced on November 25 a plan to increase exports of agricultural products from 612 billion yen in 2014 to 1 trillion yen prior to 2020. The TPP is expected to be a driver of the agribusiness by increasing both imports and exports of the twelve countries whose GDP accounts for nearly two-fifths of the world.
Japan's Foreign Trade of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Products
(from Year 2006 to Year 2014)
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Member Countries
(Numbers in 2015 forecasted by IMF)
Source: World Economic Outlook Database, October 2015, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
About the Authors:
Fumitaka Noguchi is a senior analyst at DZH Financial Research, Inc. in Tokyo. Mr. Noguchi spent most of his career in the field of international investment at Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance. While working at Yasuda, Mr. Noguchi was stationed in New York from 1996 to 2001 responsible for U.S. equity management. He holds MA, International University of Japan, 1987 and BA, the University of Tokyo, 1982.
The article above is an opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of MV Index Solutions or its affiliates.