STAG NEWS BITES is produced for Australian Seafood Exporters, containing important updates and informal translations of news from Asian media sources. Any information provided as part of this trade news service is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and business objectives
M A R K E T N E W S
Seafood industry's brighter outlook as consumers focus on health
Source: Seafood Source, 24th December 2020
Seafood suppliers will be one of the primary beneficiaries of consumers’ surging interest in eating healthier foods in 2021.
COVID has fueled consumers’ desire to eat healthy, immune-boosting foods and, as lockdowns continue, they are buying and cooking more seafood at home.
To read the full article, click here
Japan to lose trillions of ¥ in private consumption
Source: Japan Times, 6th January 2021
A month-long state of emergency planned by the government to contain a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections is expected to knock trillions of yen off private consumption, with some economists predicting the economy will return to contraction.
To read the full article, click here
Image: Kyodo
Wider COVID curbs heighten the risk of a double-dip recession for Japan
Source: Asahi Shimbun, 9th January 2021
Japan is considering extending a state of emergency from the Tokyo metropolitan area to other regions as coronavirus cases increase, a move that could heighten the risk of a double-dip recession for the world's third-largest economy.
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Tokyo restaurant suppliers may get government aid
Source: Japan Times, 10th January 2021
As Tokyo’s state of emergency compels restaurants to cut their business hours, suppliers may soon be eligible for financial aid.
Under the plan, up to ¥400,000 will be given to small businesses and up to ¥200,000 to sole proprietors.
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Singapore eateries see a surge in bookings
Source: Strait Times, 4th January 2021
Singapore eateries have enjoyed a burst of activity last month, with more bookings made compared with a year ago before the pandemic struck.
Food and beverage players said it reflects a recovery in consumer confidence and is likely a result of Covid-19 affecting year-end plans, including travel.
In addition, Chinese New Year reservations are now streaming in.
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Virus impact to still weigh on Singapore's economy
Source: Strait Times, 2nd January 2021
Singapore's recovery will be muted in 2021, but not all is doom and gloom as businesses transform.
This article explores the three dimensions that will weigh on the Singaporean economy.
To read more, click here
Image: Chong Jun Liang
Beijing on alert as cases rise next door in Hebei
Source: South China Morning Post, 9th January 2021
The northern Chinese province of Hebei reported 33 new locally transmitted COVID cases and 39 asymptomatic ones last week, taking the province’s total to 310 and compounding concern in neighbouring Beijing.
The Hebei outbreak is the biggest of a number the country is grappling with this winter, with cases reported in Beijing and several northeastern cities.
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Online sales offer hope for tuna wholesalers
Source: Seafood Source, 29th December 2020
Seafood wholesalers at the Toyosu Wholesale Market in Tokyo, Japan, can expect lower restaurant demand in the holidays due to fresh COVID-19 restrictions, but some have teamed up with online marketers to sell high-end items like bluefin tuna and snow crab directly to consumers.
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Tuna sold goes for 10% of 2020 price
Source: Japan Times, 5th January 2021
A bluefin tuna fetched just ¥20.84 million at the New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, a price far lower than in previous years as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic weighs on the restaurant industry.
The price for the 208-kilogram tuna, caught by a vessel operating out of a port in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, is well below the previous year’s ¥193.2 million paid by a Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain operator.
To read more, click here
Image: AFP-JIJI
Thai seafood market outbreak passes 1,000 cases
Source: The New Paper, 23rd December 2020
A coronavirus outbreak linked to a seafood market in Thailand recently passed 1,000 cases as the authorities weighed whether to introduce a wider lockdown.
Thailand has been on tenterhooks since the positive virus test of a 67-year-old prawn seller from Mahachai market, Samut Sakhon province, about 40 minutes south-west of Bangkok.
To read the full article, click here
STAG News Bites is a resource for Australian seafood exporters, currently funded by the Abalone Council Australia Ltd, Southern Rocklobster Ltd, Australian Abalone Growers Association, Western Rocklobster Council and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. We acknowledge past funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, through the Package Assisting Small Exporters.
This STAG publication contains informal translation of foreign and Asian media. Any information provided as part of this trade news service is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and business objectives.
Copyright © 2021, Seafood Trade Advisory Group. All rights reserved.
