Both snow crab (zuwaigani) and king crab (tarabagani) are popular during Japan’s New Year holidays and throughout the winter. They are mostly eaten as “kani-nabe,” a crab hotpot with Napa cabbage and other vegetables.
Russia and Alaska are the largest sources of imports. Japan’s annual imports of Russian crab amount to more than 30,000 metric tons (MT), excluding prepared products, about a 60 percent share of its imports. Unfortunately, most of that Russian crab is poached.
Japan will soon require certificates of origin for Russian Okhotsk Sea crab landings, so poachers have been landing as much as possible before the new system goes into effect.
Japan and Russian signed an agreement on 8 September and the new system is to be implemented 30 days after each side had informed the other that it had finalized its system. December was estimated to be the earliest possible implementation, but the government has not announced finalization yet.
Meanwhile, there has been a major increase in deliveries of live crab to Japan, quadrupling at the northern Hokkaido port of Wakkanai, where it is estimated that about 80 percent of deliveries are poached.
Processing facilities in Hokkaido could not keep up, leaving an excess of live and raw product to be moved and widening the price difference between raw and processed. Supermarket prices of processed products are only marginally down, while the wholesale price of raw Russian king crab fell to less than half that of the previous year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Small- and medium-sized kings (1-2 kilograms) were 1,000-1,200 yen per kilogram (USD 11.24-13.49, EUR 8.46-10.16) in mid-December.
More raw product is making it to Tsukiji and to restaurants, which have also lowered their prices. Tsukiji traders reported supply of raw Russian crab in December at 200-400 crabs per day.
The Japanese and Russians have been haggling over this issue since 2002, and it has taken a lot of arm-twisting by Russia to get the agreement. Russia even threatened Korea and Japan with a loss of quota to fish Russian waters if they do not cooperate to control the IUU crab trade. However, it looks like Japan will try to get through as much of the crab season as possible before actually taking the promised step.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have been explaining the new system to the trade in Hokkaido and around the country. Japanese importers have many concerns. A sharp drop in the IUU landings would hurt the regional economy of Wakkanai, which largely depends on imports of crab from Russia. Some seminar participants wondered how they could be sure of the authenticity of the certificates when they buy. Some said that the product would still be caught but would go to North or South Korea or China instead. They urged the government to monitor the situation in those countries.
In snow crab, domestic producers on the Japan Sea have established significant product differentiation through branding programs that tie in with gourmet tourism. Premium branded “Echizen” domestic snow crab from the Japan Sea sold at auction in November for as high as 10,000 yen per kilogram (USD 112.44, EUR 84.65). However, imported snow crab is reasonably priced, at about 10 percent lower than last year.
In an informal survey, more than half of Japanese questioned had eaten a crab hotpot over the winter holidays, with about three-fourths eating snow crab and one-fourth eating king. Many of those who had king also ate snow crab at the same time, for a mixed pot.
