Japan’s total exports were down by 15.4 percent and its imports declined by 11.6 percent for the first six months of 2020, according to Japanese Customs data released on 30 July.
COVID-19 had no effect until mid-March, but then hit the country hard. The decline in May was the harshest, with exports down 28.3 percent and imports off by 26.1 percent. Declines in imports for the half-year were worst in machinery and capital equipment, as companies try to conserve their cash.
Fish and fish preparation imports fell 8.4 percent in quantity and 16.3 percent in value in the first half of the year. In June, imports actually rose by 4.2 percent, but fell in value by 6.9 percent compared with the same month last year. Consumers are eating at home more, so cheaper everyday items like salmon and mackerel are selling well, while luxury items like bluefin tuna are finding little demand.
Fish imports from the United States were up 1.1 percent in June in quantity and down 11.1 percent in value. Seafood imports from China were down 10.3 percent by quantity and 20.8 percent by value. Russia exported 34.3 percent more seafood to Japan, but earned 13.9 percent less.
The anomaly was imports from the European Union, which rose 26.2 percent by quantity and 137 percent by value. The rise in June contrasts sharply with May, in which Japan’s imports of E.U. seafood products were down 10.7 percent in quantity and 2.2 percent in value. It may represent a resumption of activity after lockdowns were lifted in Europe.
In the first 10 days of July, as a second wave of the virus is spreading in Japan, Japan’s overall exports were off from last year by 18.8 percent and imports were down 26.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Japanese fisheries and aquaculture production statistics for 2019 show catches of saury, salmon, and squid were all at their lowest since statistics have been kept. However, sardine and yellowtail catches increased. The sardine catch rose 2.5 percent and is now the top species by quantity in Japan, surpassing mackerel, which dropped 6 percent from 2018.
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