Imports of Russian surimi to Japan increased by five times in 2022
Industry Expertise
February 13th, 2023
The volume of Russian pollock surimi imports to Japan in 2022 amounted to 16.1 thousand tons, which is more than five times that in 2021 (3.1 thousand tons), according to the state statistics of Japan analysis, conducted by the Fishery Shipowners Association (FSA).
Thus, in the market of Japan, the largest consumer of Pollock surimi in the world, the share of Russia increased from 3.2% to 17.5%, while the share of the USA decreased to 82.5%. US surimi exports to Japan decreased to 76.1 kt in 2022 (-15.9 kt to 2021).
“The organization of surimi production in Russia makes it possible both to replace the import of this product and to develop its export. The production of surimi was resumed in our country in 2021 after a long break. The first to start producing it was the Russian Fishery Company (a member of the FSA) on the new supertrawler "Vladimir Limanov". Today, two more similar vessels have joined it, which allows the company to multiply the production of sea-frozen surimi. Today, Russia is developing the production of this product both at sea and onshore. If in 2021 about 8.5 thousand tons of domestic surimi were produced, then the forecast for 2023 is more than 50 thousand tons with further growth,” commented Alexey Osintsev, president of the FSA.
Stay up to date