Loading
Search
▼ Imported White-meat Fish Hooks Bigger Slice of Market
- Category:Event
Following historically poor domestic catches of salmon and walleye pollack, supermarkets and other retailers in Japan are increasingly turning to imported white-meat fish to fill the void on their shelves.
Walleye pollack is a leading variety of white-meat fish, and salmon is very popular among the general public. To cover the shortfall in these varieties, supermarkets are increasingly turning to basa catfish and salmon raised in Norway, which are comparatively low-priced.
Basa catfish is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia. Its light flavor and delicate texture resembles walleye pollack, and it goes well in meuniere and sautes. It can also be fried or boiled. Cultivated mainly in Vietnam, basa catfish can grow to shipment size within one year. Its wholesale price in Japan reportedly is about 20 percent cheaper than that of walleye pollack.
Japan’s imports of basa catfish have surged. According to Tokyo Customs, the import volume of frozen catfish, of which more than 99 percent were basa catfish, reached about 5,500 tons from January to November 2017, up more than 30 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Maruha Nichiro Corp., a major seafood company that sells basa catfish fillets wholesale to supermarkets and others, plans to import about 1,000 tons of the fish in fiscal 2017, an increase of about 40 percent from the previous fiscal year.
The retail industry is throwing its weight behind moves to sell basa catfish. Major distributor Aeon Co. sells four cuts of the fish for about ¥300 under the name “pangasius.”
“Basa catfish and similar fish can be stably supplied, which is a huge advantage,” an Aeon official said.
Imports of salmon are also growing quickly. According to trade statistics compiled by the Finance Ministry, the import volume of salmon in November 2017 was about 20 percent higher than in the same month in 2016.
Summit, Inc., which runs supermarkets and other stores mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, has coped with the decline in domestically caught salmon by boosting orders for imported salmon, to keep a wide assortment of products on its store shelves.
According to the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center, a general incorporated association, and other sources, the volume of catches of walleye pollack in 2017 is expected to decline about 15 percent from the previous year to about 74,000 tons — the lowest volume since records began. The poor catch of autumn salmon also had a negative impact on the catch for 2017. The salmon catch is forecast to total about 57,000 tons for the year, a drop of about 30 percent from 2016 and a new record low.
Catches of Japanese flying squid from January to October in 2017 totaled about 30,000 tons, down about 20 percent from the same period the previous year. There are fears catches of this squid will decline in the years ahead.
The Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, which examines fishery resources, last year harvested purpleback flying squid off the east coast of the Philippines. The agency is investigating whether this species, which has a similar shape and texture to the Japanese common squid, can be stably fished.
Walleye pollack is a leading variety of white-meat fish, and salmon is very popular among the general public. To cover the shortfall in these varieties, supermarkets are increasingly turning to basa catfish and salmon raised in Norway, which are comparatively low-priced.
Basa catfish is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia. Its light flavor and delicate texture resembles walleye pollack, and it goes well in meuniere and sautes. It can also be fried or boiled. Cultivated mainly in Vietnam, basa catfish can grow to shipment size within one year. Its wholesale price in Japan reportedly is about 20 percent cheaper than that of walleye pollack.
Japan’s imports of basa catfish have surged. According to Tokyo Customs, the import volume of frozen catfish, of which more than 99 percent were basa catfish, reached about 5,500 tons from January to November 2017, up more than 30 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Maruha Nichiro Corp., a major seafood company that sells basa catfish fillets wholesale to supermarkets and others, plans to import about 1,000 tons of the fish in fiscal 2017, an increase of about 40 percent from the previous fiscal year.
The retail industry is throwing its weight behind moves to sell basa catfish. Major distributor Aeon Co. sells four cuts of the fish for about ¥300 under the name “pangasius.”
“Basa catfish and similar fish can be stably supplied, which is a huge advantage,” an Aeon official said.
Imports of salmon are also growing quickly. According to trade statistics compiled by the Finance Ministry, the import volume of salmon in November 2017 was about 20 percent higher than in the same month in 2016.
Summit, Inc., which runs supermarkets and other stores mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, has coped with the decline in domestically caught salmon by boosting orders for imported salmon, to keep a wide assortment of products on its store shelves.
According to the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center, a general incorporated association, and other sources, the volume of catches of walleye pollack in 2017 is expected to decline about 15 percent from the previous year to about 74,000 tons — the lowest volume since records began. The poor catch of autumn salmon also had a negative impact on the catch for 2017. The salmon catch is forecast to total about 57,000 tons for the year, a drop of about 30 percent from 2016 and a new record low.
Catches of Japanese flying squid from January to October in 2017 totaled about 30,000 tons, down about 20 percent from the same period the previous year. There are fears catches of this squid will decline in the years ahead.
The Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, which examines fishery resources, last year harvested purpleback flying squid off the east coast of the Philippines. The agency is investigating whether this species, which has a similar shape and texture to the Japanese common squid, can be stably fished.
- February 2, 2018
- Comment (0)
- Trackback(0)