Japan is stepping up its promotional campaigns to increase seafood exports to various destinations in Asia, the U.S., and Europe to address the sales gap resulting from a year-long Chinese import prohibition, according to the head of the Japan External Trade Organization.
China, previously a primary market for Japanese seafood exports, halted the purchase of Japanese-origin seafood due to concerns about radioactive contamination following the release of treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean by Tokyo Electric Power in August of the previous year.
Export figures for agricultural, forestry, and fishery products from Japan in the first half of 2024 dipped for the first time since 2020, primarily due to a 43.8% decline in exports to China. Among the most affected products were scallops, which experienced a 37% drop year-on-year.
Norihiko Ishiguro, chair of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), stated, “While we have not yet fully offset the volume loss from China, we are observing notable growth in exports to the U.S., Canada, Thailand, and Vietnam, signaling positive momentum in alternative markets.”
With the aim of mitigating the impact of China’s restrictions on scallops and other affected products, the trade organization is advocating for the diversification of export destinations and establishing fresh trade channels in Asia, the U.S., and Europe.
Ishiguro mentioned, “Through our concentrated promotional initiatives, we have managed to redirect 20-30% of the scallop exports that were affected by China’s ban.”
According to government statistics, Japan exported aquatic products worth 87.1 billion yen ($592 million) to China in 2022, marking it as the largest market for Japanese exports. However, this amount fell to 61 billion yen in 2023 and further dropped to 3.5 billion yen in the initial half of 2024, inclusive of pearl and coral products.
