Nearly a Quarter of Japan’s 2022 Marine Product Exports Went to China

On August 24, Japan began discharging into the ocean treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. In response, China announced a total ban on the import of Japanese marine products.

Japan’s exports of marine products totaled ¥387.3 billion in 2022, of which 22.5% or ¥87.1 billion went to China, making it the largest export market.

Japan’s main exported marine product is scallops, whether fresh, frozen, chilled, or dried. In 2022, exports of scallops reached a record high of ¥91 billion, up 40% over the previous year. Of these, 51.3% or ¥46.7 billion went to the Chinese market.

Back in 2009, scallop exports to China totaled just ¥700 million, but since 2010 exports have been rising steadily. Along with the high demand for dried scallops, an ingredient in traditional Chinese cuisine, fresh scallops in the shell have been transported by air to Beijing and Shanghai in recent years amid the boom in Japanese cuisine there. An increasing number of Chinese traders have also been importing scallops in the shell and then shelling and exporting them to the United States, which leads the world in scallop demand.

In response to China’s suspension of marine products imports from Japan, the government is taking measures including the provision of emergency assistance to fishery businesses, such as the temporary purchase and frozen storage of scallops and support for the development of new export destinations.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)