Why Is Akadama So Expensive?

Akadama is a very popular component in bonsai soil and it could be argued that it is the superior choice for your trees.

You have probably heard people talk about how good it is …but then looked at the price and been quite shocked.

Unfortunately akadama is pretty expensive and this can be for a number of reasons which I will go through below.

Akadama Needs To be Imported

Akadama is a type of volcanic clay that is mined in Japan …and only Japan. Whatever way the earth and minerals mix together in this area it creates this unique soil that we know as akadama. It is not found anywhere else. 

This means that if you live outside Japan the only way to get akadama is to have it imported. Importing usually comes with all sorts of costs and taxes and generally increases the prices of things.

This is one of the reasons why it is so expensive for us compared to buying it in Japan and also why the prices may vary from country to country.  

Shipping Costs Really Increases The Cost Of Akadama  

When we talk about importing a large part of that means shipping and when we think about what akadama is …shipping is going to cost a lot.

Akadama is large and bulky …it is literally bags of soil!

You can get it in all sorts of different size bags but it is quite common to see it packed in large 14 litre bags so it doesn’t take many bags to start making things really heavy and expensive to ship.

I would imagine that it is being imported by ship, based on the weight and the fact that Japan is also an island, but even this can be expensive and prices only seem to be going higher since 2020 and all the “stuff” that happened then.

The Availability Will Effect The Price

As akadama is an imported product, the availability is of course lower.

You have to think about where we buy akadama from. For the vast majority of us it is not something we can just pop out and buy right now, unless we have a specialty bonsai store nearby.

Really what I’m saying is it is a speciality item that you buy at a speciality store. It is not readily available and therefore only a small amount will get imported to your country and if there is a high demand for it, then this will affect the price.

You could also look at this lack of availability form a different angle …I can’t pop out and buy it now from a local shop, but I can source it online pretty easily …and guess what that means …shipping costs, which will increase the price.

I have just had a quick check and the price and shipping costs vary. I’ve seen free shipping… but the price of the soil is quite high, meaning they have absorbed the shipping costs into the product and I have seen the other end of the spectrum where the price is low, but the shipping is nearly as much as the soil its self.

A third way you could look at the availability is the fact that this soil only comes from Japan and I assume it will one day run out. While this doesn’t seem to be a problem right now, at some point it may be become limited, which would certainly sky rocket the price.

So you can really see how availability can affect things no matter what way you look at it. 

There Are Production Costs To Akadama

There is a cost of production of akadama and this is ultimately what we are partly paying for.

Akadama doesn’t just magically appear in nicely sealed in a bag …someone has to go and dig it up, sort it into particle size and then bag it up and ship it out and this all needs to be paid for.

I think we are all happy enough to pay for this and understand it is just part of buying something.

I guess you could call this the baseline price and those in Japan pretty much pay for just this alone, where as the rest of us need to pay for all the other things I have mentioned above on top of this baseline price.

(You can read more about – A General Guide To Bonsai Soil)

Companies Have To Make Profits

I think we would be foolish to not mention the fact that akadama is a product, it is bagged and sold for money, so of course some of what we are just paying for is so that companies can make profits.

This is how business works and that’s fine, people need to make money, but of course the more people that are involved in the chain, the higher the price will be as everyone needs to make a little profit along the way.

As akadama is imported, the chain is going to be pretty long, then add the limited availability on top and this is why some of us end up paying a lot more than others and is why the Japanese can get it for much cheaper.

(You can read more about – Is Akadama Worth Buying For Bonsai?)

Conclusion

Hopefully that helps you understand why akadama can be so expensive. Unfortunately it is just the way it is, importation and limited availability are always going to increase the prices.

The only way you can really get around this is to move to Japan, which is a little drastic but also you need to remember that while akadama is a great bonsai soil … it is not the only one. You can find plenty of similar materials that are going to more easily sources and cost you a lot less.

(You can read more about –What Is The Difference Between Akadama And Molar Clay?)