Matcha Shortage & Price Surge in Japan 2025 – What's Really Happening?

Posted on July 08 2025, By: Luke Alcock

Matcha Shortage & Price Surge in Japan 2025 – What's Really Happening?

What’s happening, what caused it, and what to expect next

Updated: This article is maintained as new official data is released.

Last updated: December 2025

If you’ve recently tried to buy matcha—especially high-grade ceremonial matcha—you may have noticed something unusual: rising prices, limited availability, and delayed shipments.

We’re based in Japan and work directly with tea farms, cooperatives, and manufacturers. Below is a clear, data-backed breakdown of what’s happening in the Japanese matcha industry and what it means for buyers worldwide.

📉 Matcha Supply Is Down — Especially in Kyoto

Matcha is made from tencha, a shaded green tea leaf. In 2025, Kyoto Prefecture—home to traditional Uji matcha—saw steep production declines in key categories:

Tea Type 2024 Volume 2025 Volume Change
Uji Tencha (hand-picked) 10,216 kg 6,140 kg –40%
First-harvest Tencha (machine-picked) 529,960 kg 434,521 kg –18%

These figures are consistent with broader industry reporting and the national trends summarized by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

💴 Prices Rose Sharply at Auction

With reduced supply and sustained global demand, tencha auction prices rose substantially in 2025:

Tea Type 2024 Price/kg 2025 Price/kg Change
Uji Tencha ¥20,024 ¥43,330 +116%
First-harvest Tencha ¥5,402 ¥14,541 +169%

These increases are highly unusual by historical standards and are already affecting availability and pricing across export markets.

Bar chart showing year-over-year changes in Kyoto tencha production volumes and auction prices between 2024 and 2025.

Note: Kyoto figures help explain why high-end Uji matcha has become harder to source even when nationwide output appears more stable.

🔍 What’s Driving the Shortage?

This isn’t a single-issue event—it’s a combination of demand growth, production constraints, and structural shifts:

1. Global Matcha Demand Continues to Expand

Matcha consumption has grown beyond tea ceremony and home preparation into cafés, food manufacturing, supplements, and cosmetics—placing sustained pressure on limited supply.

2. Climate and Agricultural Constraints

Industry and government reporting note increasing climate stress on tea cultivation, including unusually hot and dry spring conditions in recent years. These conditions can reduce yield and complicate quality production—especially in regions where traditional methods remain common.

3. Structural Shifts in Tea Production

Nationally, more producers are converting fields from sencha to tencha. This supports long-term supply, but it does not instantly replace the loss of top-grade, carefully produced material (especially hand-picked or tightly specified lots).

4. Rising Costs (Labor, Fuel, Fertilizer, Packaging)

Higher input costs have pushed up production costs across the board, with additional pressure on organic and hand-picked teas that require more labor and smaller-batch handling.

If you’re shopping for authentic Japanese matcha during this period, you can browse our retail selection here: Uji matcha products.

🗾 What Does National Data Show?

Nationally, tencha production has increased over the past decade, driven in part by rising international demand. However, MAFF also notes that growth is uneven—meaning the availability of the highest-grade material can tighten quickly when key regions face poor yields.

Source: MAFF – Current Conditions Surrounding Japanese Tea Production (お茶をめぐる情勢)

🔮 What to Expect Going Forward

✅ Prices May Stay Elevated Short-Term

Some stabilization may occur depending on upcoming harvest outcomes, but pricing is unlikely to return quickly to earlier lows while demand remains strong and production constraints persist.

✅ Supply Is Becoming Relationship-Driven

A key reality in today’s market is that many farms and primary suppliers are prioritizing existing customers. In practical terms, that means new buyers often struggle to secure consistent high-grade stock—especially if they are switching suppliers mid-season or requesting unusually short timelines.

✅ “Authentic Matcha” Is Still Available—With Better Planning

Matcha is not going away. But buyers may need to plan further ahead, be more flexible on specs, and work with suppliers who have stable, long-term access to production.

💬 What We’re Doing at Premium Health Japan

We’ve built long-term relationships with multiple farms and manufacturers well before the current matcha boom. That history matters. Because we’ve supported our partners consistently over time, we have more stable access to stock than newcomers typically can.

  • We lean on established supply relationships across multiple producers and processing partners.
  • We protect quality and consistency by planning lots and lead times carefully.
  • We vet inquiries and work best with partners who understand the industry strain and communicate politely and realistically.

If you’re a wholesale buyer or OEM partner, you can request access to our wholesale price list here: OEM & Wholesale. (You’ll be prompted to register your email to view pricing.)

Tip: Your chances of receiving a positive supplier response improve when you demonstrate awareness of current market conditions, avoid unrealistic turnaround requests, and communicate with the politeness and clarity that are central to Japanese business culture.

📌 Additional Reading (Non-Commercial)

Note: Some Japanese government websites periodically reorganize or archive statistical pages without redirects. For this reason, we link to stable overview pages and official PDFs to ensure sources remain accessible over time.

Have questions about sourcing, OEM options, or availability?

Contact us — our bilingual team is happy to help.