At the season's inaugural auction held at the Shizuoka Japanese Tea Market, machine-processed new Japanese tea leaves from Shizuoka Prefecture achieved a top price of 1.18 million yen per kilogram on Monday [1]. The green tea, grown in the city of Shizuoka, benefited from early spring rainfall, which market officials said contributed to strong bud growth and a steady crop this year [1].
Natsuki Wada, a tea wholesaler from Shizuoka, purchased the highest-priced lot and commented, 'It was tea that truly met my expectations. I hope to let everyone get a taste of Japanese culture' through the tea [1]. By 9:10 a.m. on the day of the auction, approximately 1,169 kilograms of Shizuoka-produced tea had been traded, with an average price of 10,686 yen per kilogram [1].
This year's auction marked the introduction of electronic bidding at the market. Yasuhide Uchino, president of the Shizuoka Japanese Tea Market, expressed optimism that the new system would attract more buyers from outside the prefecture [1]. Shizuoka Prefecture remains a prominent region for green tea production in Japan, with the peak of tea-leaf harvesting anticipated in late April [1].
CONCLUSION
The Shizuoka Japanese Tea Market's first auction of the season saw record prices for new green tea, reflecting strong crop conditions and market demand. The introduction of electronic bidding is expected to broaden the market's reach, while the upcoming peak harvest in late April may further influence trading activity.