Japan's H1 food exports fall due to China's seafood import bans
By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) -Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products fell 1.8% in the first half of 2024, hit by China's ban on seafood imports related to Tokyo Electric Power's 9501.T water discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The exports from January to June were 701.3 billion yen ($4.7 billion), down from 714.4 billion yen a year earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said on Friday.
It marked the first drop since 2020, when exports sagged due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official at the ministry said.
Tepco began releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August last year, prompting China to suspend imports of all seafood of Japanese origin.
Japan's agricultural, forestry, fisheries exports to China plunged 43.8% in the first half of the year to 78.4 billion yen, while those to Hong Kong slid 10.5% to 103.2 billion yen. But exports to other regions rose 14.3%.
In Europe and the U.S., sales to restaurants, retail outlets and e-commerce have been strong, while the depreciation of the yen has also helped improve the competitiveness of Japanese products overseas, the ministry said.
The government has been promoting the diversification of export destinations for scallops and other seafood products by creating commercial channels elsewhere in Asia and in the U.S., but this has not fully offset the China impact, the ministry official said.
Japan's exports of scallops were the hardest-hit by China's ban, sliding 37% year-on-year in the first half of the year.
($1 = 149.0200 yen)
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Andrew Heavens
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