On Monday, Undercurrent News reported that US pollock surimi exports to South Korea had boomed this year, with the country surpassing Japan as the top export market for the first time in at least a decade.
The same figures suggested exports to Japan had fallen 19% in the first seven months of the year.
However, what these figures reflect is not higher demand in South Korea, but instead much later sales to Japanese buyers as a result of this year’s slow surimi market, said Guenneugues.
With higher inventories this year, coupled with a weak yen and falling prices, Japanese buyers have remained more cautious with their purchases of US pollock surimi, a process that has seen pollock surimi prices drop 40% in US dollar price.
Faced with this, US processors, forced to ship out their product from Dutch Harbor (Alaska), moved the inventory to the South Korean port of Busan until the contracts with Japan were confirmed, said Guenneugues. The main reason is that Busan offers cheaper transportation and storage than Japan.
“Last year, [when Japan's inventories were far lower], the contracts were done in January, so the product moved directly to Japan,” said Guenneugues.
Import figures from Japan, listed in a presentation given by Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui) at the Japan surimi forum, back this up.
These show Japan imported 40,604 metric tons of pollock surimi from the US in the first half of 2013, barely down from last year’s 41,291t.
This picture is in strong contrast with that given by the US export figures, which suggested that exports to Japan had fallen from 40,675t to 32,795t in the first seven months of the year, as they did not take into accounts sales via Busan.
The same export figures from the US showed South Korea purchased 39,455t of US surimi pollock from January to July 2013, compared to 23,970t in the same period last year.
While Japan’s imports of US surimi pollock have remained stable, its surimi imports from Thailand have taken a strong hit, falling by 8,000t to 18,294t.
This confirms the trend outlined by Guenneugues, that tropical surimi imports have taken a strong hit this year, as countries importing both pollock and tropical surimi (such as Japan, the EU/Russia, and South Korea) have shifted the balance in favour of pollock surimi this year, due to the lower prices.
The same presentation by Nissui shows that competition in Japan is intensifying, as overall spending by consumers is going down.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition – Vietfish 2026, the technical seminar “Green and Sustainable Technology Solutions for the Aquaculture and Seafood Processing Value Chain” will take place from 09:30 to 11:45 on August 20, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. The seminar is jointly organized by VASEP, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam, focusing on technological innovation and sustainable transformation across Vietnam’s seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the seminar "Global Seafood Market and the Future Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainable Development Pathways for Vietnam's Seafood Industry" will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on August 19, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first of five specialized seminars at Vietfish 2026, focusing on key issues that are shaping the long-term development of Vietnam's seafood industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese seafood exports recorded impressive growth, generating nearly 6 billion USD in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 13% compared with the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Fishermen in Ha Tinh are gradually overcoming difficulties to maintain the efficiency of seafood exploitation. In the first six months of 2026, the entire province achieved a production of more than 23,000 tons of seafood, worth more than 1,200 billion VND.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) June 2026 brought encouraging signs for Vietnam's tuna exports, with export value rising 20% year-on-year to nearly USD 72 million. However, this increase has yet to offset the prolonged slowdown seen in key markets such as the European Union (EU), where import demand remains weak. The outlook for the second half of the year is expected to become more challenging as freight rates continue to climb.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Agency for Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will organize the Domestic Seafood Supply–Demand Matching Program on the morning of August 20, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. The program aims to foster direct business connections between Vietnamese seafood producers and processors and domestic distributors, retailers, and foodservice channels.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Cooking Show will be one of the most engaging experiential highlights of Vietfish 2026. Taking place over three days, from August 19–21, 2026, at Hall B1, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City, the event will offer visitors a vibrant culinary space where Vietnamese seafood is showcased through its flavors, stories, and real-life culinary applications.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's pangasius exports reached USD 205 million in June 2026, up 5% compared with the same month in 2025. Cumulative export value for the first six months of the year totaled USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand from China and CPTPP markets, while exports to the United States and Brazil continued to decline.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first six months of 2026, Ha Tinh province continued to implement comprehensive solutions to combat IUU fishing; strictly manage the fishing fleet, control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, operate vessel tracking devices, trace the origin of seafood, and severely punish violations.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's tilapia exports reached USD 7 million in June 2026, down 32% compared with the same month in 2025. Nevertheless, thanks to strong growth in the first five months of the year, cumulative tilapia exports in the first half of 2026 totaled USD 69 million, up 67% year on year.
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