TOKYO - Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food reached a record 897.7 billion yen in the first half of 2026, rising 10.9% from a year earlier as global demand for green tea surged, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on August 4. The total for the January-to-June period marked a record high for the first half of the year for the second consecutive year. Green tea posted one of the largest increases, with exports climbing 83.5% from a year earlier to 48.2 billion yen. The ministry attributed the sharp rise to growing worldwide demand for matcha, which is increasingly used as an ingredient in lattes and desserts. Source: テレ東BIZ