Vietnamese shrimp exports to Japan are stable although growth is not high

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According to data of the country Customs, in the first five months of this year, the Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Japan reached USD 265 million, up 15% over the same period last year. In the first five months of 2022, shrimp exports to this market increased by 6-23%. Shrimp exports to this market are quite stable although the growth rate is not high, has reported Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

As of May, this year, Japan is the export market of 97 Vietnamese shrimp enterprises with the largest exporters such as TS Minh Phu Group Joint Stock Company, Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, TS Minh Joint Stock Company Phu-Hau Giang, Hai Viet Joint Stock Company, Central Seafood Import-Export Joint Stock Company.

The main shrimp products exported to Japan are: frozen powder coated shrimp, frozen steamed black tiger shrimp, breaded shrimp, fried breaded shrimp, frozen PDTO Nobashi white shrimp, frozen steamed black tiger shrimp, and white leg shrimp. frozen boiled tail, peeled white shrimp, frozen steamed tailless, frozen steamed whiteleg shrimp, frozen breaded white leg shrimp, etc.

Shrimp from 42 international sources

According to data from the World Trade Center (ITC), in the first four months of this year, Japan imported shrimp from 42 sources in the world with a total import value of USD 679 million, up 4.4% over the same period in the last year.

Vietnam is still the largest shrimp supplier to Japan, accounting for 26% of the total value of Japan’s shrimp imports. Indonesia and Thailand ranked second and third respectively, accounting for 19% and 18% market share. According to ITC data, in the first four months of this year, the growth of shrimp exports from Indonesia and Thailand to the Japanese market was higher than that of Vietnam. Among the top 12 main shrimp suppliers for Japan, India and Ecuador are increasingly less competitive in the Japanese market, said from the VASEP.

Japan’s shrimp imports are still affected by factors such as the COVID-19 epidemic, the yen depreciating against the dollar, high inflation, which reduces the demand for goods.

It is expected that the demand for shrimp imports into Japan from Vietnam in the third quarter of this year will remain stable like the first two quarters of the year and it is expected that the import demand in the last quarter of this year will grow more positively than in the previous quarters.

New policy to restore the seafood industry

At the same time, the Japanese Government has launched a new national fisheries policy to promote industrialization and effective recovery for the local industry amid the many challenges faced by the marine industry. property that was once prosperous, has faced in the past few years. The Japan Fisheries Agency (JFA) highlighted the significant drop in seafood production as one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

The JFA reported that the reduction of the production of swordfish, for example, fell from 229,000 tons in 2014, to about 30,000 tons in 2020; and salmon from 147,000 tons in 2014, to about 56,000 tons in 2020.

“Among our key areas of focus in this new basic plan will be the careful management of fishery resources, based on scientific changes in the marine environment and the restoration of local fishing villages, which are important to support the development of the industry,” the JFA said through an official statement.

“Importantly, every effort will be made to accelerate the industrialization of Japan’s seafood industry in order to promote sustainable growth and improve the society and economy of the stakeholders in this industry, and to address the current and evolving risks facing the industry,” they added.

Seafood has always been one of Japan’s most precious and traditional sources of protein. The country is famous for its fish dishes like salmon and unagi, but in recent years the trend seems to have gone in the opposite direction, with many younger generation consumers switching from seafood to chicken or pork.

Since 2018, researchers have noted a significant decline in Japan’s seafood consumption, saying this is down from 70% of the country’s total animal protein consumption in the 1960s to less than 40% in 2014. A more recent study, published last year found that Japan had the biggest drop in global seafood consumption among countries with more than 30 kg per capita fish consumption.

To stem this decline, the Japanese government launched a ‘Fishery Basic Plan’ earlier this year, following the end of the previous five-year national fisheries plan. This new strategy is expected to govern the progress and development of the fisheries sector for the next decade.