After trade agreement with EU Asahi cuts retail prices for wine imports

Japan | After six years in the making, the EU and Japan finalised their trade agreement, which will become effective on 1 February 2019. Asahi Breweries Ltd. has said it will cut the suggested retail prices for wine imported from the European Union by 4 to 17 percent, starting 1 March 2019.

As media reported, prices for 40 items will be lowered. A bottle of Italian sparkling wine will now sell for JPY 1,771 (USD 16.30), down from JPY 1,976 (USD 18.20).

Japan is the EU’s second biggest trading partner in Asia, after China. EU firms already export over EUR 58 billion (USD 66 billion) of goods and EUR 28 billion (USD 32 billion) of services to Japan every year. In the past, European firms faced lots of trade barriers when exporting to Japan – such as high import duties and procedures and standards different from international standards, which made it hard for them to compete. 

Japan’s import tariffs on agri-food products proved particularly prohibitive. They were 30-40 percent on cheese, 38.5 percent on beef, 15 percent on wine, up to 24 percent on pasta and up to 30 percent on chocolate, according to EU Commission data.