Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Product Exports Rise to Record High

By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products rose 3.7% to a record high in 2024, despite China’s ban on seafood imports following Tokyo Electric Power’s water discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Exports last year totaled 1.507 trillion yen ($9.7 billion), up from 1.454 trillion yen in 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) reported on Tuesday.

This marks the 12th consecutive annual increase and a record high. Kazuyoshi Nakasugi, deputy director of MAFF’s export policy planning division, noted that stronger exports to the United States and other parts of Asia offset the decline in exports to China and Hong Kong.

> “An increasing number of Japanese restaurants and the growing popularity of a wide range of Japanese foods, driven by the rising number of foreign tourists visiting Japan supported the growth,” Nakasugi stated.

Tepco began releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August 2023, leading China to suspend imports of all seafood from Japan.

Japan’s agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports to China plunged 29.1% to 168.1 billion yen in 2024, but exports to the United States rose 17.8% to 242.9 billion yen, making the U.S. Japan’s top export destination for the first time in 20 years.

Exports to Vietnam and Thailand grew by more than 23%, while sales to Taiwan, South Korea, and Europe climbed between 11 and 20%, thanks to strong demand for seasonings and green tea.

Japan’s scallop exports were among the hardest hit by China’s ban, but increased sales to the U.S., Taiwan, and Vietnam helped offset the impact, MAFF’s Nakasugi stated.

The government has been promoting the diversification of export destinations for scallops and other seafood products by developing commercial channels elsewhere in Asia and in the U.S.

> “We will continue to encourage China to resume seafood imports as soon as possible while supporting efforts to expand sales channels for Japanese food products worldwide,” Nakasugi added.

($1 = 155.2200 yen)