The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. (Mainichi/Kenji Yoneda)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The value of Japanese agriculture, forestry and seafood exports exceeded 1 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) for the first time this year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday.

       The export value between January and November totaled 1.06 trillion yen. Matsuno told a press conference that the figure was a "result of the combined efforts of government agencies to promote exports."

       "We want to promote the growth of the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries by incorporating demand from overseas markets and stimulate regional economies," Matsuno said.

       Sales were bolstered between January and October by popular products such as beef and Japanese sake, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

       The cumulative export value for that period also included sales of nonagricultural products including pearls and timber.

       Online sales also increased as people made purchases for home consumption amid the coronavirus pandemic.

       The Japanese government has set goals of 2 trillion yen in exports in 2025 and 5 trillion yen in 2030, and plans to quickly expand exports centered on products that Japan has strengths in.

       While Japan's exports of agricultural products have grown steadily, the 1 trillion yen goal could not be met by the initially set target year of 2020 as growth slowed due to the pandemic. The value of exports in 2020 was 986.0 billion yen.

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