What is driving Matcha prices up?

Matcha prices in Japan are set via an auction that all growers participate in. This sets the national wholesale prices, but also crucially "locks in" the product to be sold to specific buyers. This year has been particularly bad since there was a drop in the harvest, and a spike in demand for matcha worldwide. Some of this demand was artificial - i.e. buyers trying to buy before Trump tariffs kick in. A lot of this demand may be speculative, and many growers expect things to settle to normalcy maybe in the next year or so šŸ¤·.

Some articles on the web talking about the dramatic jump in matcha prices in 2025.