Photo/Illutration Due to the soaring price of imported orange juice, Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has replaced its orange juice with one using a mixed juice of orange and mikan, left, while Megmilk Snow Brand Co. now sells only a 200-ml carton of orange juice under the Dole brand, right, after it suspended sales of 450-ml and 1,000-ml versions. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Orange juice brands are discontinuing sales across Japan in succession as a poor harvest and weak yen have made oranges difficult and expensive to procure.

The price of imported orange juice used in their products saw a drastic surge due to an ongoing poor harvest of the fruit in Brazil, the main exporter to Japan.

The recent currency fluctuation is further worsening the situation, rendering it difficult for companies to sell orange-based drinks at affordable prices.

Morinaga Milk Industry Co. plans to stop selling 200-milliliter cartons of 100-percent orange juice under the Sunkist brand as soon as the company runs out of the raw materials in stock.

The product is predicted to become unavailable in Japan around mid-June.

Asahi Soft Drinks Co. stopped shipping Bireley’s Orange 1.5-liter bottles in December.

Megmilk Snow Brand Co. stopped delivering 100-percent orange juice in 1,000-ml and 450-ml cartons under the Dole line last spring.

The rising prices of raw materials are the main reasons for these decisions.

Data from the Japan Fruit Juice Association shows that imported orange juice carried a price tag of 259 yen ($1.60) per liter in 2020 but the figure reached 491 yen in 2023.

The price surge is reportedly fueled by the weakened yen.

In the meantime, domestically grown mikan juice is having a heyday.

In April this year, Kyodo Milk Industry Co., under the Nokyo Kaju brand, reintroduced a 900-ml carton of 100-percent Unshu Mikan juice from Wakayama Prefecture for the first time in 14 years.

The mikan juice is currently available only in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region but Kyodo Milk Industry is considering expanding its sales to other areas in the next fiscal year.

While the release of the product is not directly related to the recent price spike in oranges, Kyodo Milk Industry expects that the beverage will provide “a good opportunity for consumers to understand the appeal of domestically made fruit juice.”

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