Japan oat imports are up slightly year-to-date (Jan-Apr). Total imports are pegged at 18,030 MT, up slightly from 17,915 MT last year  (see below).

 

Japanese oat imports have been on a downward trend for over 15-years as oats for compound feed use continues to decline.  The main use for imports is high end horse markets. 

 

Canada’s market share continues to edge higher up 1.7% based on a five-year CAGR (see chart right). Canada is the largest exporter to Japan accounting for on average 62% of total imports.  Australia, with a 31% share has seen negative growth of -10.5% over the past five-years.

 

USA, Chile, and Brazil have all seen market negative growth over the past five-years. Uruguay growth is up 7.6%

 

Based on current trends Japan crop year imports will continue to decline into 2020 falling roughly 13,000 (see chart pg. 2). It should be noted that the horse race industry continues to grow, at least from a dollar betting perspective. It remains unclear whether this will stem raw oat import declines moving forward.