08/12/2023

The share of seafood imports from Russia, in particular crabs to Japan, increased by almost 70 percent in 2023.

"Getting rid of Russian crab addiction will not be easy. There are not many other mining areas capable of providing the necessary volumes," noted the Japanese publication Nihon Keizai.

Japan increased tariffs on Russian seafood delicacies, but did not refuse crabs. The trend began immediately after the jump in the dollar exchange rate from 30 rubles and above.

Experts note that products such as caviar, highly processed fish (fillets and minced meat), seafood tend to markets with high purchasing power. For example, if a resident of the North receives a monthly salary on average 10 times less than a resident of Japan, then crabs will be on the table of a Japanese. All elite seafood is exported.

In the first 3 quarters of 2023, the Land of the Rising Sun imported crabs worth 35.8 billion yen, of which 24.6 billion yen came from Russia. The influx of imported domestic seafood increased supplies to Japan, which also led to lower prices for Canadian and Norwegian crab meat.