The European Union continued to have a positive seafood trade balance with Japan last year, with a surplus value of EUR 247 million (USD 279.9 million), finds new data published by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).
E.U. imports of Japanese fisheries and aquaculture products in 2017 totaled EUR 65.9 million (USD 74.7 million), comprising 5,971 metric tons (MT) of seafood, up from EUR 61.8 million (USD 70 million) and 5,825 MT in the previous year. In value terms, scallops accounted for a large percentage of the overall trade, with 1,083 MT valued at almost EUR 25.9 million (USD 29.3 million).
The main E.U. destination for Japanese exports were the Netherlands, which also acted as a gateway to other E.U. member states (63 percent of the total E.U. import value), followed by the United Kingdom (8 percent), Germany (8 percent) and France (7 percent).
Meanwhile, E.U. exports to Japan totaled EUR 313 million (USD 354.6 million) and 57,555 MT in 2017, with the value falling from EUR 336.4 million (USD 381.1 million), but the volume climbing from 53,201 MT.
Tuna – mostly bluefin tuna shipped by Malta, Croatia and Spain – represented 45 percent of the total value, with 8,315 MT valued at EUR 101.3 million (USD 114.8 million). The other major products exported to Japan are “other marine fish” (cobia, seabass) and caviar, which accounted for 9 percent and 5 percent, respectively, of total export value.
In volume terms, small pelagics (mostly horse mackerel and mackerel) accounted for 18,500 MT in 2017, or 32 percent of the total volume exported to Japan, but less than 9 percent of the total value.
On 17 July 2018, the E.U. and Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This will see Japan eliminating duties on most agricultural products and make them more affordable to Japanese consumers.
For most fishery and aquaculture products, duties will be gradually eliminated in nine years. But for some products (usually with a base rate of 10 percent), where Japan has a significant fishing or farming activity, duties will be eliminated over a period of 16 years. This is the case for mostly small pelagics, Alaska pollock, hake and scallops.
