Japan's Seafood Exports To China Fall Off A Cliff

Japan's seafood exports to China fall off a cliff

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recently released data show that in the first half of 2024, Japan's agricultural, forestry and water products and other food exports fell for the first time in four years, down 1.8% year-on-year, with a total export value of 701.3 billion yen (100 yen about 5 yuan).

​ According to the official website of the General Administration of Customs of China, in order to protect the health of Chinese consumers and ensure the safety of imported food, the department has completely suspended the import of aquatic products (including edible aquatic animals) originating in Japan since August 24, 2023.

Japan's Public Broadcasting Association (NHK) analyzed that China's "sanctions" on the discharge of nuclear contaminated water have made Japan lose more than it gains. For example, Japan's scallop exports to China in the same period last year were 22.3 billion yen, and this year's exports are zero.

The Chinese mainland, previously Japan's largest export destination for food, agricultural and aquatic products, fell to third place this year, Japanese media said. According to the Japan Times, the government's original plan to increase the total value of food exports to 2 trillion yen by 2025 and 5 trillion yen by 2030 is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. "We want to make every policy effort to improve the situation," said Tetsushi Sakamoto, minister of agriculture, forestry and Fisheries. According to him, in addition to opening up regional markets such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the Japanese government also hopes to seek the cancellation of relevant import bans on Japan from China and other countries and regions.

China's Ministry of Commerce said earlier that the Japanese government's unilateral and forced discharge of water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster is an extremely selfish and irresponsible act that ignores the international public interest. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it. Japan's move will cause unpredictable damage and harm to the global Marine environment, and will further aggravate the safety risks of Japanese food, agricultural and aquatic products. The Chinese government always puts the people first and will take all necessary measures to safeguard food safety and public health.