(KUALA LUMPUR) – Japanese agricultural and seafood exports to Malaysia climbed 26.3 percent in 2024, reaching 29.1 billion yen, as demand for the country’s cuisine grows rapidly among Malaysian consumers and businesses. The figure moved Malaysia up three places to become the tenth largest destination worldwide for Japanese farm, forestry and fishery products.
The value in US dollars stood at roughly 194 million dollars, based on current exchange rates, while in sterling that equates to about 152 million pounds and in euros approximately 178 million euros. In local terms, the sum converts to around 892 million Malaysian ringgit.
Shipments of food items and ingredients are being driven by a widening appetite for washoku, the traditional dietary culture of Japan that gained Unesco intangible cultural heritage status in 2013. E-commerce channels and a rise in Malaysian travel to Japan have added further momentum, creating new routes for product promotion and consumer trial.
The number of Japanese eating establishments operating globally has also risen, a sign that the cuisine has embedded itself firmly in international dining habits. Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia is now viewed as a gateway for spreading Japanese food culture and packaged goods, given its multicultural society accustomed to varied culinary traditions and global food offerings.
A model that combines workforce training, product adaptation, readiness for halal certification and efficient logistics has already taken shape in the country. That approach is being studied as a template that could be replicated in other Asean nations and in Muslim-majority markets further afield.
Koichi Takano, managing director of the Japan External Trade Organisation in Kuala Lumpur, said the outlook pointed to more Japanese food service companies setting up operations locally in the years ahead. He was speaking at a Japanese Cuisine Lecture Series held at Taylor’s University, where he cited official statistics from Japan’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry that confirmed the export growth.