August saw Japanese seafood imports fall to 205,900 tons led by a 42% drop in yellowfin tuna.
Japanese imports of marine food (including fishmeal) were 205,884 metric tons, a decline of 12.3 percent over the corresponding month a year ago. The average unit price spiked 23.1 percent and the total import value climbed 8 percent to JPY129.2 billion (€973 million/$1.315 billion).
Pollock surimi, shrimp, and crab imports declined drastically. A year ago, 14,200 metric tons of pollock surimi was shipped to Japan but this year only around 5,512 tons was imported, which was a marked drop of 61.3 percent.
The following core commodities exhibited significant drops: shrimp1 was down 11.7 percent at 5,312 tons, bigeye tuna was down 29.7 percent at 6,006 tons, crab was down 30.3 percent at 4,265 tons, and yellowfin tuna was down 42.1 percent at 2,903 tons.
Conversely, salmon/trout (7.8 percent), Sebastes matsubarae (166.5 percent), squid (48.5 percent), and octopus (30.5 percent) all increased.
Striking unit price hikes were also experienced: salmon/trout rose 37 percent, shrimp rose 36.9 percent, crab rose 21 percent, and fishmeal 46 percent.