Salad sticks (imitation crab), chikua (roasted tubes) and salad flakes (crab analogue in flake shape) were the most popular fish-paste products in Japan in the period 13-19 July, according to point-of-sale data.
Kamaboko (fishcake) was not among the top items, as it is a seasonal item, most popular during the New Year holiday. Among less conventional products, Tokyo-based Kibun Foods’ vegetable and surimi tempura took the 12th spot in popularity among specific branded products.
Kanetetsu Delica Foods secured the 19th and 20th place with their “Hobo-kani” (nearly crab) and “Hobo-hotate” (nearly scallop) brands, each accounting for 0.61 percent of sales in the segment for the period. They differ from typical extruded products in their more natural shapes and mouthfeel. The scallop analogue, introduced in March and now selling at about three times the expected volume, is extruded in thin sheets which are then spun into a continuous spiral and cut to length. The right mix of natural scallop juices and amino acids result in a taste closely resembling real scallops. Though it might be assumed that the scallop industry would not care to supply natural juices for a competing product, Hiroshi Miyamoto, who worked on the development of the product at the Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture-based company, said that they sell in different price ranges and do not directly compete.
Japanese fish paste product makers are trying to offset declines in surimi sales, and attract younger customers, by introducing such innovative products. In addition to flat or declining demand, domestic production is also down, owing to lower catches in Hokkaido. Hokkaido surimi production was down year-on-year, by 40 percent in April, 30 percent in May and 23 percent in June. Total production in the prefecture is likely to be under 40,000 metric tons (MT) this year. The shortfall is likely to be made up with pollock rather than tropical surimi, as golden threadbream surimi remains in short supply globally.
According to data from Japanese customs, the average price of itoyori in June was JPY 354 (USD 2.85, EUR 2.56) per kg, off 1 percent from the previous month but still up 20 percent year-on-year. Japan’s imports of tropical surimi in June were mostly sourced from Thailand (391 MT), India (357 MT), Indonesia (352 MT) and Myanmar (283 MT). Vietnam’s surimi exports to Japan increased by 11.5 percent year on year in the five months through May, to USD 13.9 million (EUR 12.5 million), according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters (VASEP). Vietnam was the source of 7 percent of Japan’s surimi imports for the period.
The average CIF price in June for imported Alaskan pollock surimi was JPY 322 (USD 2.59, EUR 2.33) per kg, down 1 percent from May, but up 14 percent from a year earlier. Pacific whiting, which in years past was sold in headed, gutted, tail-off (HGT) form to Russia and Ukraine, continues to be affected by a ban by the former and financial instability in the latter. As a result, more whiting will go into surimi this year. Russia’s purchases on world markets are still a wildcard. If Chinese demand for Russia’s Alaska Pollock remains soft, more may be diverted to the domestic market, though rail costs from the Russian Far East to the more populous European Russia would cut into profits.
