Sources & Research Methodology

Last reviewed: 2026-09-10. How Matcha Times researches, sources, and verifies its B2B and market articles.

Source priority

For commercial, regulatory, and market claims we prefer sources in this order:

1. Primary official — governments, customs authorities, ministries (e.g. Japan Customs, MAFF), regulators (FDA, EFSA, food authorities), and international bodies (UN Comtrade, ITC).
2. JMEX first-hand data — our own anonymised, aggregated, release-approved operational data (clearly labelled as original; see below).
3. Official company / industry — producer, certifier, and industry-association primary pages.
4. High-quality secondary — reputable, verifiable reports.
5. Editorial analysis — our own synthesis, clearly presented as analysis.

Evidence layers in each article

Where relevant, each article carries a Sources & Methodology section that states, for each source, what it supports, its date, and its scope — not a bare list of links. Figures marked (dataset: …) come from Matcha Times / JMEX original data; all others are external.

How we handle numbers

NO SOURCE = NO NUMBER. Any specific price, MOQ, tariff, HS code, market size, or volume is only published with an inline source and a trade condition (FOB / CIF / EXW / wholesale / retail). We prefer the latest figure and state the period. If a current figure cannot be verified, we omit it rather than guess. We never present a retail price as wholesale, average across disagreeing sources as one fact, or combine a price and an MOQ from different sources as if they belonged together.

Original data & original analysis

• Original data (e.g. patterns in the inquiries JMEX receives) is only published when it genuinely exists, is anonymised and aggregated, has a real sample size, and is approved for release. We do not publish customer names, contract terms, non-public prices, or personal data. We never invent “X% of buyers”, average MOQ, or typical order values.
• Original analysis of public data — when we compute a year-over-year change, country ranking, growth rate, or market share from public primary data (Japan Customs / MAFF / UN Comtrade), we record and disclose the raw source, the formula, the period, the unit/currency, and the limitations (for example, that green-tea HS lines are not matcha-specific).

First-hand experience

Some articles include short notes from an exporter’s perspective (for example, questions buyers should ask suppliers). These reflect JMEX’s real, confirmable operational experience. We do not fabricate first-hand experience, and any quantitative claim inside such a note follows the original-data rule above.

Review & corrections

Time-sensitive articles (prices, tariffs, regulations, market data) carry a review date and are re-checked when the underlying facts change. Corrections are handled per our Corrections & Updates policy. See also our Editorial Policy.