Figures released by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture show a marked increase in first-flush tea production in 2026. Shizuoka Prefecture has retaken the top spot with 10,700 tonnes of crude tea, up 32% year on year, while Kagoshima, the 2025 leader, rose 14% to 9,610 tonnes. Together with Mie, Kyoto and Saitama, output from the main prefectures reached 24,100 tonnes, a 21% gain, even though the harvested area edged down to 22,000 hectares.
Kyoto’s Uji market recorded transactions worth 12.94 billion yen between 24 April and 31 July, beating the previous record of 9.63 billion. Tencha volume — the leaf ground into matcha — hit 595 tonnes, the highest since the market opened in 1974, and the average price of machine-harvested tencha climbed to 17,250 yen per kilogram.
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Source: Global Japanese Tea Association