According to news from SeafoodMedia on June 23, the Japanese aquatic industry hopes to maintain the production capacity of high-end seafood products that Chinese consumers love. Hokkaido, Japan is the main production and export area for high-end products such as scallops and sea cucumbers.

In 2022, Japan's seafood exports will exceed 300 billion yen, or about 2.14 billion U.S. dollars, 2.3 times that of 10 years ago.

In 2022, the export value of Japanese scallops will be 91 billion yen, or about 641 million U.S. dollars, which is five times that of 2012. Among them, the export value of Hokkaido scallops will be 59.6 billion yen, or about 420 million U.S. dollars, which is six times that of 2012.

China is the main buyer of Japanese scallops. In 2022, the export value of Japanese scallops to China will be 43 billion yen, accounting for 70% of the total export value.

In 2022, nearly 60% of the scallops exported from Hokkaido, Japan will be frozen shell products.

A scallop processing factory in Hokkaido said that in China, it has become a common practice to purchase shelled scallops from Japan and then process them and export them to Western countries. The processing factory exports about 900 tons of shelled scallops every year, and the output of processed products is about 2,300 tons.

In China, sea cucumbers are considered a luxury item and are called "black diamonds". In 2022, Japan exported sea cucumber products worth 20 billion yen. Back in 2013, 90% of Japan’s sea cucumbers were sold to Hong Kong, the mainland of China. In recent years, mainland China has become its main export destination.

In 2022, 65% of Japan's sea cucumbers will be exported to the mainland of China, surpassing Hong Kong, China. Although 70% of dried sea cucumbers are still sold to Hong Kong, most of the pickled and frozen sea cucumbers are exported to the mainland of China.

The price of dried sea cucumbers in Japan exceeds 70,000 yen per kilogram, or about 493.5 US dollars. In contrast, the price of pickled and frozen sea cucumbers has always hovered at 20,000 yen, or about 141 US dollars.

The export volume of dried sea cucumbers in Japan has decreased from more than 200 tons in 2012 to 150 tons in 2022. Hokkaido is one of the largest sea cucumber production areas in Japan. In 2022, the prefecture produced about 1,500 tons of sea cucumbers, accounting for nearly 100% of the country's total production. 30%. Pickled sea cucumbers have replaced dried sea cucumbers as the main export product, according to local traders.