Bluefin tuna prices usually spike in Japan heading into the New Year holidays, when Japanese consumers splurge on expensive foods. This year, higher catch limits for Atlantic bluefin and an abundance of domestically farmed tuna have suppressed prices.
On 29 October, the average price for fresh imported bluefin at Tokyo’s Toyosu wholesale market was JPY 3,564 (USD 32.66, EUR 29.16), while on 29 December it was only marginally higher, at JPY 3,780 (USD 34.64, EUR 30.93).
Catch limits on Atlantic bluefin were increased in 2017 due to a stock recovery. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) raised the ceiling to 28,200 metric tons (MT) for 2018 (up 19 percent), to 32,240 MT for 2019, and to 36,000 MT for 2020, up 50 percent over the level of 2017.
Meanwhile, prices for farmed product in Japan – often utilizing closed-cycle breeding rather than wild capture – have come down from around JPY 5,000 to JPY 4,000 (USD 45.82 to 36.66, EUR 40.91 to 32.73). The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the largest bluefin farming company, a part of the Maruha Nichiro Group, will ship 4,800 MT this year – half of what was seen four years ago – and the Nippon Fisheries Group will ship 4,120 MT, almost twice as much as four years ago.
High-grade fatty tuna from Aomori Prefecture continues to see a large seasonal bump in prices. The highest priced bluefin on 29 December, 2019, sold at JPY 20,520 (USD 188.04, EUR 167.88) per kilogram, up from JPY 6,480 (USD 59.38, EUR 53.01) on 29 October.
Bidding up the best bluefin at the first tuna auction of the new year at the Tokyo’s wholesale market is a traditional Japanese promotional tactic. This year’s bid will probably continue to give the impression of extreme scarcity, however, the reality is that stocks are recovering, closed-cycle farming (not depending on wild juveniles) is increasing, and prices are falling.
Photo courtesy of Chris Loew
