Wine sales in Okinawa grew 14-fold in 5 years

Although the quantity of wine imported from overseas to Okinawa and its cost are decreasing, the overall quantity of wine sales in the prefecture shot up 40 percent over the period of five years from 2009 to 2015.

According to Okinawa Customs, 163 kiloliters of wine was directly imported to Okinawa in 2015 that is 3.4% less than the previous year. The cost of the imports was ¥53.39 million that is 0.8% less than the year before. Both have been decreasing for two years in a row. The quantity has dropped 35.7% from the 457 kiloliters in 1998 that was the peak year for imports.

According to Okinawa Customs, the main reason is the decrease in the number of companies that import wine directly into the prefecture. The number of wine importers has decreased about 40% since 2012.

Although the number importers has decreased, the quantity of wine sold in Okinawa has been increasing every year since 2009. The total quantity of wine sold in fiscal 2009 was 223 kiloliters, which shot up to 3,149 kiloliters in fiscal 2014.

According to the family income and expenditure survey by the Government Statistic Bureau, the annual expenditure for wine of one household in Naha City in 2015 was ¥2,550 that is more than double the ¥1,059 in 2007.

According to Okinawa Customs, most of wine sold in Okinawa comes through mainland Japan, and is not imported directly from overseas.

Among the directly imported wines, Chile is the largest supplier with 91 kiloliters, Italy the second largest with 52 kiloliters, and France the third with 16 kiloliters.

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03:55 04 Nov , 2024