Some of these articles are in foreign languages and can be automatically translated on Google Chrome. 

Note: These articles are a round-up of news media in key seafood markets. The information is provided as part of our market intelligence service to Australian seafood exporters. The views expressed in the media articles are not those of the STAG and are in no way endorsed by us. 

China's growing appetite for sea cucumber has helped to boost Japanese seafood exports. (Photo obtained by Nikkei)

🎌 Japan: 2022 seafood exports and consumption

Nikkei Asia reports on Japan’s successful seafood export performance in 2022. Overseas sales
were ‘lifted by a 42.4% surge in scallops to 91 billion yen and a 32.7% jump for yellowtail to
36.2 billion yen… Mainland China was the biggest buyer, boosting its purchases by 25.2% to
278.3 billion yen with increasing appetite for scallops and sea cucumber.’ Read more here.

On the other hand, according to the Japanese Household Budget Survey Report for November
2022, domestic spending on seafood fell 13.4%. Read more here.

🦞 USA: Maine lobster fishery withdraws from MSC certification

Seafoodsource.com reports on news that the Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association
has formally withdrawn the fishery from the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainability
standard. Read more here.

In other news from the New England lobster fishery, authorities are reportedly considering
changes to size regulations in an effort to protect local lobster populations. Read more here.

🦐 US-China seafood trade

Image: www.uschina.org/50-states-50-stories

The US-China Business Council has published an interesting article spotlighting regional value
chains that support US seafood consumption, including the harvesting of fish in the USA, export

to China for processing, and re-export to USA of finished product for consumption. The article
looks at challenges in trade such as illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing and US-China trade
relations generally. Read the full post here.

📉 China: Spring Festival seafood prices 

China’s CCTV reported on seafood wholesale market conditions during Spring Festival: “In this store specializing in imported seafood, the owner of the store introduced that the best sellers this year are king crab and Boston lobster”. Read more here (Chinese).  

Another report from Wuxi city in China’s Eastern Jiangsu province describes falling prices in the local seafood market following the Spring Festival period. According to one trader: “During the Spring Festival, sales in the store were about 20% higher than during the previous two Spring Festivals. There were more citizens having dinners and banquets, and many customers bought several big bags.”  Read the report here (Chinese).  

Image:  Wuxi city in China’s Eastern Jiangsu province

🐟Scotland: Seafood industry snapshot

Scotland’s export-oriented seafood sector is the nation’s second-largest industry. Learn more in
this detailed feature from the Scotland Herald here.

Image: By Ailsa Sheldon

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The Seafood Trade Advisory Group (STAG) is jointly funded by the Australian government and the fishing industry. We receive funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).which is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Water and the Environment. 

 Any information provided in this STAG publication is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your individual circumstances and business objectives.