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Bord Bia

Japan International Expo

Driving export growth through insight and Origin Green

Date: 22/08/2017

Pictured at Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo in Tokyo is (l – r) Ciaran Gallagher, Bord Bia Director, South East Asia; Sean Og Ward, Director, Ward Fish; Shintaro Oshima, Managing Director, Fuji Bussan (buyer of Irish seafood).

Bord Bia and Irish seafood exporters will exhibit for the first time at Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo in Tokyo this week determined that its extensive market insight and promotion activity in South East Asia will lead to new business opportunities.

The Bord Bia seafood strategy of expanding into emerging markets and maintaining its strong position in the EU has led to international markets now taking 26% of exports. Japan has been key to this success importing an estimated €12.8 million and 8,600 tonnes of Irish seafood in the year to May 2017, a 43% increase in value and a 27% increase in volume on the previous year. It is our fourth largest market for pelagic exports in terms of value with growth potential in other species including shrimp, Dublin Bay prawns and crab and clams.

One year on from his appointment as manager for the South and East Asian region Ciaran Gallagher gave a positive overview of the market:

“Bord Bia’s decision to exhibit for the first time at Japan Seafood is underpinned by our market and consumer insight and the assurance that Japan and South Korea can deliver high volume and value returns for Irish exporters of sustainably produced seafood. Our market insight results from Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia also point to strong potential for growth and Bord Bia’s teams in Singapore and Dublin will build on the relationships forged at this event to attract the most promising buyers to Marketplace next March where they will see for themselves our excellent production systems.

Japanese retailers are now highlighting to their customers their commitment to certified sustainable production systems, going beyond what is required by state authorities. This plays to the strengths of our Origin Green exporters and we will drive customer awareness around our unique offering in one-to-one contacts and through our new “sustainable seafood” logo, designed specifically for the Japanese market”

Market Insight

The Bord Bia / ORRANI market insight study on seafood identified the buyers, processors and distributors best placed to work with Irish exporters in bringing products to market. The reports covering Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore also highlight the export potential for various species but especially for mackerel and salmon.

Origin Green

The eight Irish companies participating at Japan Seafood are all members of Origin Green and are keenly aware of the production and marketing benefits of sustainable food production that is independently certified.

The largest Japanese retailer AEON added sustainability to its seafood sourcing policy three years ago and aims to increase its sales of ASC and MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) products from the current 3% to 10% by 2020. Kasumi Co. Ltd, one of the largest retailers in Japan, has introduced ASC and MSC seafood products in response to its high environmentally conscious consumers.

Many Irish seafood exporters including Ward Fish are drawing on their Origin Green credentials to meet the ASC and MSC standards.

“We were delighted to work with Bord Bia along with other producers earlier this year to promote our quality MSC Certified Irish Herring and Mackerel products to Japanese customers in a promotion with AEON across 100 stores over 3 days. The lessons we learned implementing our Origin Green Charter commitments have stood to us in our relationships with our Japanese customers.”

Pictured is Bord Bia’s Origin Green Stand at Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo in Tokyo, where 8 Irish Seafood exporters are exhibiting from August 23rd -25th.

The 8 Irish seafood exporters exhibiting at the event are:

Seafood exports

Irish seafood exports have grown by 51% to €563 in the past in the six years. The four key Asian destinations of China, Hong King, South Korea and Japan have played a key role in this strategy. The main EU markets, namely France, Spain, UK, Italy and Germany continue to dominate seafood exports, accounting for an estimated 65% of total value.

Future events

In early November Bord Bia and seafood exporters will target the Chinese and Hong Kong markets at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo.

  • Japan International Seafood & Technology Expo, now in its 19th year, attracts more than 35,000 buyers, suppliers, media and other seafood professions and features the stands of over 1,300 exhibitors.
  • Bord Bia has carried out a number of activities to raise awareness of the Irish stand at the Japan International Seafood & Technology Expo, including buyer canvassing, trade media communication and the coordination of a seafood reception on the Ireland stand.
  • Bord Bia ran a promotional campaign with one of Japan’s leading retail group, Aeon, across 100 stores in March 2017 to raise awareness of the quality and sustainability credentials of seafood from Ireland. The promotion involved in-store tastings of a range Irish mackerel and herring products which were fully accredited by MSC’s fisheries certification programme, guaranteeing the sustainability credentials of these products to the Japanese consumer.
  • The largest Japanese retailer AEON added sustainability to its seafood sourcing policy three years ago and aims to increase its sales of ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) and MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) products from the current 3% to 10% by 2020.
  • Japan imports over 2 million metric tonnes of seafood and while the country is a major producer (3.3m mt) it has been constrained by declining capture and static culture production. This is a long way from the peak of 11.6 million mt in 1984 and reflects reductions in distant-water fisheries and a fast aging coastal fishery workforce, as well as other factors such as the damaging tsunami in 2011. The result is that imports have grown to a share of 56%.

Other Importing countries in South East Asia:

  • South Korea: - 1.3 million tonnes of seafood
  • Singapore: - 199,000 tonnes    
  • Vietnam: - 99,500 tonnes

Irish Seafood Exports

The main EU markets, namely France, Spain, UK, Italy and Germany continue to dominate seafood exports, accounting for an estimated 65% of total export values.

The four main Asian markets for Irish seafood are China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. Strong value rises were recorded to China (+32%) and Japan (+55%) during 2016.

Global Seafood Performance

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN, in 2014 human consumption of farmed fish surpassed that of wild fish. Aquaculture production continues to grow at a steady rate, experiencing a 5% volume increase in 2016. Macro-economic factors such as higher incomes and urbanisation are having an effect on fish consumption which is growing at a faster rate than the global population. As a result, global per capita consumption of fish for food continues to grow and increased by 1% in 2016.

According to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, overall seafood production for 2015 is expected to have reached 174 million tonnes; a 1.8% increase on 2015, while global aquaculture production increased by 5% in 2016.