Hokkaido Scallops and Sea Cucumbers Decline in Price, Impacted by Chinese Seafood Embargo Fisheries Agency Survey

Good evening. Today’s article is about scallops, sea cucumbers, tuna and other marine products
Hokkaido Newspaper

Scallops landed at fishing ports in Hokkaido

A survey by the Fisheries Agency has found that prices of scallops and sea cucumbers produced in Hokkaido have fallen due to the impact of the Chinese embargo on Japanese marine products as a result of the release of treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The trading price per kilogram of scallops has fallen by more than 20 yen. Prices of marine products from outside of Hokkaido have also declined noticeably, and the negative impact is spreading.

According to the Agency, the average price per kilogram of scallops produced in Hokkaido fell from 195 yen in mid-July to 173 yen in August. Scallops from Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi prefectures also saw a large drop in price. Prices for sea cucumbers produced in Hokkaido dropped to 4,000 yen per kilogram from 4,500 yen per kilogram at the same time last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, exports of edible marine products to China in 2022 will total 83.6 billion yen. Of this amount, scallops accounted for 48.9 billion yen and sea cucumbers 9.8 billion yen, accounting for 70% of the total. 　In addition, trade prices also fell in the Kanto and Kyushu regions. In Nagasaki Prefecture, farmed bluefin tuna destined for China was switched to domestic markets, resulting in a 10% drop in prices. 　A Fisheries Agency official commented, “We believe that (the price decline) is largely due to China’s tightening of import restrictions. We will continue to pay attention to the actual situation.