— Latest update: March 2022 —
In 2020, Japan’s total demand for dairy products was equivalent to approximately 12.42 million tons of raw milk, from which about 7.43 million tons were domestically produced, while around 4.99 tons were imported. This means that the country needs to import a little more than 40% of its dairy products. Imported dairy products consist primarily of cheese, non-fat dry milk and ice cream, while fluid milk for direct consumption is domestically produced. As the number of farmers active in the dairy sector has been decreasing because many of them do not find a successor, dairy products are likely to become more and more imported.
Japan Dairy Industry Association, Dairy Farming in Japan Today - Where milk comes from, 2020 (Japanese website)
The Cattle Site, Dairy Farming in Japan, 2021
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