Sanctions on Russia Likely to Boost Seafood Prices in Japan

Tokyo, March 7 (Jiji Press)--Economic sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are expected to boost seafood prices in Japan, for which Russia is the third-largest seafood exporter.

Sockeye salmon from Russia accounts for 80 pct of Japan’s total imports of the fish, while sea urchin from the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido is in short supply due to red tide last year.

Prices of seafood products are seen rising markedly if shipments from Russia stop and higher crude oil prices resulting from the sanctions are reflected.

According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, Japan’s imports of fishery products from Russia totaled 138.1 billion yen last year, or 8.6 pct of the total.

Imports from Russia came to 37.9 billion yen for crabs and 9.7 billion yen for sea urchin, each accounting for about half of the total imports.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]