Excess of Russian crabs led to falling prices in Japan

Data released by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that Japanese consumers have favored crab this holiday season amid relatively favorable prices. Households with two or more people spent an average of 169 yen ($1.16) on crab in November, up 23% from a year earlier. They bought 83% more crab by volume as prices fell 32% year-on-year to 405 yen per 100 grams. “Frozen crab has attracted the attention of retailers looking to boost year-end sales, along with fresh tuna,” Toyosu, a wholesaler at Tokyo's central fish market, told Undercurrent News. “It’s been many years since I’ve seen that many crabs at the market.” The boom in supplies is due to US President Joe Biden's ban on imports of Russian seafood, introduced due to the conflict in Ukraine. The loss of the lucrative US market has redirected exports of crab caught in the Russian Far East and the Barents Sea to alternative markets, including China and Japan. Average monthly wholesale prices for Russian ...