JOYO, Kyoto Prefecture—The average price at the season’s first auction for “tencha,” shade-grown leaves used to make Uji matcha, hit a record high on May 13 as surging domestic and global demand fueled intense competition.
The auction for the first flush was held at the JA Zen-Noh Kyoto’s Uji tea distribution center, where the average price for machine-harvested tencha was 13,972 yen ($89) per kilogram, about 1.7 times higher than the previous year.
Tea farmers in Kyoto Prefecture offered a total of 375 lots, amounting to about 25 tons. Around 100 tea traders from about 50 companies carefully evaluated the aroma and taste of the tea leaves before bidding.
The Japanese Association of Tea Production reports that Japan’s total tencha production in 2024 was 5,336 tons, of which Kyoto accounted for 1,068 tons.
“Compared to Kagoshima Prefecture, the main production area, the volume of Uji matcha material is small, and since 2024 it has been a fierce scramble,” said an official of the Kyoto Prefectural Tea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The average price for the first flush of tencha at the JA Zen-Noh Kyoto tea market in fiscal 2025 ultimately reached 14,144 yen, 2.6 times higher than 5,402 yen in fiscal 2024.
Although tencha prices typically see a gradual rise after the first auction, this year’s opening day price was already approaching the fiscal 2025 average.
An official from the JA Zen-Noh Kyoto tea market division attributed the high prices to “strong demand, as well as the availability of a substantial volume of high-grade tea from the first day.”
“Uji matcha, with its centuries-long history, attracts strong demand due to its brand power,” said Chotaro Horii, chairman of the Kyoto Prefectural Tea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Prices are likely to remain quite high this fiscal year.”
AloJapan.com