Japan's seafood industry getting creative as Chinese import ban continues

Published Jun 26, 2024

Tridge summary

In 2023, Japan experienced a significant setback in its seafood export plans, particularly to China, when the country imposed a ban following Japan's discharge of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The ban resulted in a 57 percent decrease in Japanese seafood exports to China and a 17 percent drop in overall seafood exports, with the U.S. becoming Japan's largest seafood market. To mitigate the impact, especially for scallop suppliers, the Japanese government and industry have been promoting Japanese seafood globally and seeking new processing channels, with success in finding HACCP-certified facilities in Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The U.S. has also played a role in identifying these facilities and providing assistance to Japanese producers. Additionally, JETRO is developing a new processing hub in Mexico to further support the industry's recovery and expansion.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Japan’s seafood exports to China plummeted in 2023, dislocating the country’s ambitious plans for export growth. In response, the Japanese government and seafood industry have scrambled to quickly find new markets and processing channels.China imposed a total ban on seafood imports from Japan in August 2023 following Japan’s discharge into the ocean of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant; limited exports to Hong Kong have continued.As a result, in fiscal year 2023, Japanese seafood exports to China plummeted 57 percent from the previous year – from JPY 74.6 billion (USD 474.8 million, EUR 437.5 million) to JPY 32 billion (USD 203.7 million, EUR 187.6 million). Japan's overall exports in the seafood category, which includes not only fish and shellfish but also pearls, coral, and ornamental fish, fell 17 percent from FY 2022 to JPY 218.5 billion (USD 1.39 billion, EUR 1.28 billion) in FY 2023. The U.S. also overtook China as Japan’s biggest seafood ...

Source: Seafoodsource