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Wholesale · Australia · 2026
We ship Japanese matcha from Japan to cafes in Australia, from 5 kg per item, milled to order. For plain matcha, Australia is one of the simplest markets in the world to import into: no duty, no GST, no import permit. The one thing that changes that is a blend. This page explains both, then food safety and timing.
Key takeaways
In this guide
Four separate rules would normally add cost or paperwork at the Australian border. For plain matcha, every one of them comes out at zero:
| What | For plain matcha | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | Free, for any origin; Free again under JAEPA for Japanese goods | Australian Border Force, Customs Tariff Schedule 3, chapter 9 |
| GST on import | None: tea is a GST-free ingredient for beverages | Australian Taxation Office |
| Biosecurity import permit | Not required for tea made purely of Camellia sinensis | Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry |
| Mandatory inspection on arrival | Not required for pure Camellia sinensis tea | Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry |
Checked September 29, 2026.
On top of that, consignments with a customs value of AUD 1,000 or less pay no duty or GST at the border at all, and a set of samples sits well under that. We ship DDP in any case, so nothing is collected at your door.
The zero-permit rule covers tea made purely of Camellia sinensis. The Department of Agriculture is explicit that all other teas are classed as herbal teas, and herbal teas can contain higher-risk plant material, so their conditions vary by ingredient. Some need an import permit and a herbal tea questionnaire lodged through BICON, the department’s import conditions system.
For a cafe that means a simple rule. Plain matcha, in any grade, is the easy case. Genmaicha with matcha, matcha mixed with fruit or botanicals, or any ready-made blend should be checked against the BICON case for tea before you order it. If you want a blend for your menu, the simplest route is usually to import plain matcha and blend in Australia.
Biosecurity and food safety are two separate systems in Australia. Even without a biosecurity permit, imported food must comply with the Imported Food Control Act 1992 and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, and the Imported Food Inspection Scheme may pick any consignment for inspection and testing. If you sell matcha in retail packs, the labelling rules of the Food Standards Code apply to those packs.
| Item | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Latte grade matcha | About $100 to $160 per kg, quoted at 1 kg | Our collection list |
| Ceremonial grade matcha | About $160 to $210 per kg, quoted at 1 kg | Our collection list |
| EMS to Australia, parcel of around 5 kg | 13,000 yen | Japan Post published EMS rate (zone 3) |
| Sample shipping | US$25 flat | Our terms |
| Duty and GST | None for plain matcha; we ship DDP | ABF, ATO, our terms |
Yen amounts are converted at the exchange rate on the day of the invoice. Japan Post gives delivery days to Australia by postcode rather than one national figure.
Japan picks its first harvest in spring, from late April into May. In Australia that is autumn, so the new season’s matcha reaches you heading into winter, and your busiest iced-drink months, December to February, fall in the middle of Japan’s winter.
Because we mill after you order, allow 2 to 4 weeks from order to delivery, shipping included, and 8 to 10 weeks around the first harvest. For an Australian summer menu, order before the end of spring so the stock is on your shelf when the heat arrives. Our dosing chart turns iced drinks per day into kilograms per month.
What you get from us is not one farm but access to many. We are connected with farms all over Japan, including the Uji area of Kyoto, and we choose each one ourselves: we visit, we look with our own eyes, and we taste the samples before deciding which farms are the right fit for cafe owners.
We then help connect you directly with those farmers, which gives your brand a real story to tell. And we can invite you to each of those farms on a farm tour.
See who grows our matcha on the farmers and regions page, and compare grades on our collection list.
Tell us your drinks per day and what you pour now. We will pick lots that fit your menu and send samples. The sample cost comes off your first bulk order if you place it within a month of the samples arriving.
Shipping somewhere else? See our wholesale guides for the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Europe and the United Kingdom.
No. Green tea under tariff items 0902.10.00 and 0902.20.00 has a general rate of Free, and originating goods from Japan are also Free under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement.
No. Tea is listed as a GST-free ingredient for beverages in Schedule 2 of the GST Act. Only ready-to-drink tea is excluded, which does not apply to matcha powder.
Not for pure matcha. Tea made purely of Camellia sinensis is treated as minimal biosecurity risk and needs no import permit or mandatory inspection on arrival. Blends with other plant ingredients are classed as herbal teas and may need a permit, so check the BICON case for tea before ordering one.
No. Once tea is mixed with another plant ingredient, such as roasted rice in genmaicha, it falls under the herbal tea conditions, which vary by ingredient. Plain matcha is the simple case.
5 kg per item, the same as everywhere we ship. It can be split into sealed 1 kg bags. Allow 2 to 4 weeks from order to delivery, shipping included.
Hiroshi Asami is the founder of Japanomars, which exports Japanese matcha to cafes in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Europe, sourcing through direct relationships with growers and processors across Japan, including the Uji area of Kyoto.
Sources
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