The average export prices per kilogram of headed and gutted Chilean trout and coho salmon (size 4-6 lbs.) were unchanged in mid-October from the week before, at JPY 650 (USD 5.42, EUR 4.78) and JPY 665 (USD 5.55, EUR 4.89), respectively. This is in contrast to Atlantic salmon, mainly shipped to the United States, where prices are falling. Japan prefers ocean-farmed trout and coho over Atlantics.
Chile accounted for more than 90 percent of the 78,000 metric tons of coho Japan imported last year. At the Tsukiji Wholesale Market in Tokyo in mid-October, prices were at JPY 1,080 (USD 9.00, EUR 7.94) for imported sockeye and JPY 788 (USD 6.57, EUR 6.57) for imported coho.
Salted sockeye salmon from Hokkaido went for an average price of JPY 3,132 (USD 26.11, EUR 23.01), while salted sockeye filets from Alaska and Russia sold for an average of JPY 940 (USD 7.67, EUR 6.91) and JPY 972 (USD 8.10, EUR 7.14) respectively.
Salted filets of Chilean coho sold for JPY 810 per kg on average. An 80-gram frozen coho slice for grilling retailed in supermarkets for about JPY 100 (USD 83, EUR 73).
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, recently negotiated by 12 Pacific countries, including Chile, the United States and Japan, if ratified, would eliminate the currently applied 3.5 percent tariff on Chilean salmon by the agreement's 16th year — hardly Earth-shattering, but it would add pricing pressure to the recovering domestic industry.
Silver salmon farming in Japan, which is located mainly in Miyagi Prefecture, just north of Fukushima Prefecture, has recovered to 83 percent of the pre-tsunami level by landed weight. A milestone in steadily diminishing radiation levels in area fish occurred on 18 October, when 120 salmon were netted in the Kido River, Fukushima Prefecture. The fish tested at under the government’s safety standard of 100 Becquerels per kilogram and were approved for sale. In Fukushima, the percentage of samples exceeding the limit has declined from 57.7 percent in the period April-June 2011 to less than 1 percent in April-June 2014, and finally to zero in April-June of 2015.
Canned salmon consumption got a boost in Japan from a recently aired segment on a health and nutrition television show. The show is influential, and often the recommended products are sold out in stores the following day. Astaxanthin, a keto-carotenoid (think carrots), is a reddish pigment that causes the color of salmon and pink shrimp. It is an excellent antioxidant, effective at guarding against damage by free radicals. In the show, canned salmon was said to be superior to frozen due to protection from air. Consumption of the packing juices (on rice) was also advised in order to take in any dissolved astaxanthin contained.
