Yen depreciation leads to excessive orange prices; Japan launches "orange juice without orange ingredients"

Golden Ten Data reported on March 28 that, due to rising costs of orange imports, Japanese food and beverage manufacturer Kagome has launched an orange-flavored juice called “Beyond” that, in fact, does not actually use oranges. The juice is priced at approximately 140 yen (195 milliliters). The manufacturer stated that after about two years of research and development, the company used its unique technology to replicate the taste of oranges and combined ingredients such as yellow carrots grown in New Zealand and apples. In recent years, orange prices in Japan have risen sharply due to poor harvests in major producing countries like Brazil, as well as the depreciation of the yen, and Japan relies heavily on imports. According to trade data, the import price of orange juice is about 980 yen (6.1 US dollars) per liter for 2025, nearly four times higher than in 2020.