A year after China imposed a ban on seafood imports from Japan, it is now increasingly sourcing its seafood from South America to meet domestic demand. This move came in response to Japan’s controversial decision to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The import ban, which began in August 2023, was a direct reaction to environmental and safety concerns regarding the treated wastewater. As a result, China has sought to fill the seafood void left by Japan by turning to suppliers from South America, Asia, and other regions.
Despite these efforts, data from China’s General Administration of Customs reveals a noticeable decline in seafood imports since the ban. Specifically, imports of mollusks, including scallops, dropped by 11 percent, while fresh fish imports fell by 4 percent. Overall, China’s seafood imports decreased by about 10 percent immediately following the halt of Japanese shipments.
In response to the gap in supply, countries like Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and Argentina have significantly increased their exports to China. From September 2023 to July 2024, mollusk shipments from Indonesia to China surged by 42 percent, those from the UK grew by around 150 percent, and shipments from Argentina nearly tripled. This shift in sourcing is reminiscent of past trends, such as the increased imports from South America during the US-China trade tensions, according to Toru Nishihama, Chief Economist at Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
The Japanese government continues to address the situation, aiming to balance domestic needs with international trade relations amid ongoing scrutiny.