Japanese scallops flock to US and Southeast Asia, but can't offset China gap

In 2022, Japan exported about 96,000 tonnes of scallops to China. Exports to China plummeted to to 49,000 tonnes in 2023 after the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge incident in August last year.

As a result, Japan shifted its export destinations to other countries, particularly the United States and Southeast Asia. As of February, the export volume of these countries has increased significantly, but it is still far from being able to make up for the shortfall in China.

According to statistics, Japan's seafood exports in February were 34,262 tonnes, down 3% year-on-year, and valued at 29.9 billion yen ($202 million), down 6% year-on-year. Exports of frozen scallops in the shell for reprocessing rose 31% year-on-year to 2,033 tonnes, at an average price of 245 yen per kilo, down 28%.

In the first two months of 2024, Japan's exports of scallops in the shell rose 41% year-on-year to 2,386 tonnes. However, some exporters have predicted that the total volume of exports will be lower than last year's from the start of the season in Hokkaido in March.

In the first two months, Japanese scallop exports to Vietnam reached 1,085 tonnes, up 736% year-on-year, and 802 tonnes to Thailand (which imported Japanese scallops for almost the first time).

A Japanese exporter said, "We see that the scallop processing capacity in Thailand and Vietnam is still far from China."

Exports are also growing in the US, European and Taiwanese markets.In February, Japan exported 368 tonnes of frozen shucked scallops to the US, up 347% year-on-year; 136 tonnes to the Netherlands, up 142% year-on-year; and 262 tonnes to Taiwan, up 137% year-on-year.