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At the end of October 2023, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Bangkok launched the "HOTATE Festival", featuring premium Hokkaido scallops, to promote Japanese scallops in Thailand. The campaign aims to increase consumer awareness and demand by collaborating with importers, restaurants, and retailers to expand distribution channels.

Additionally, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) hosted the "ASEAN Media Event", inviting journalists, bloggers, and influencers from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines to visit Aomori and Hokkaido. The program allowed them to experience fresh scallops and sea cucumbers and learn about their production process from farming to processing.

According to MAFF officials, the primary objective of these efforts is to promote Japanese seafood, including scallops and sea cucumbers, to ASEAN consumers and expand export destinations and volumes.

Japan’s Seafood Export Market in Numbers

In 2022, Japan’s total seafood export value was 387.3 billion yen (approximately 93.97 billion baht). The top export markets were:

1. China – 87.1 billion yen
2. Hong Kong – 75.5 billion yen
3. United States – 53.9 billion yen
4. Taiwan – 34.6 billion yen
5. South Korea – 24.4 billion yen
6. Thailand – 23.5 billion yen
7. Vietnam – 21.6 billion yen
8. Singapore – 9.6 billion yen

For scallops, Japan’s top seafood export, the 2022 export value reached 91.05 billion yen, accounting for 23.5% of Japan’s total seafood exports. The key export destinations were:

1. China – 46.72 billion yen
2. Taiwan – 11.17 billion yen
3. United States – 7.82 billion yen
4. South Korea – 7.54 billion yen
5. Netherlands – 5.30 billion yen
6. Australia – 2.09 billion yen
7. Thailand – 1.20 billion yen

Thailand: Japan’s Largest Seafood Importer in ASEAN

Thailand ranks first in ASEAN for importing Japanese seafood, including scallops.

Looking at the broader picture, Japan’s total agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and food exports reached 1.4 trillion yen in 2023. Japan aims to increase exports to 2 trillion yen by 2025 and 5 trillion yen by 2030, with seafood as a key export sector.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture,

“Through these promotional activities, Japan aims to increase global agricultural, forestry, and seafood exports to 2 trillion yen by 2025 and 5 trillion yen by 2030. We also hope that ASEAN markets will grow at a rate equal to or higher than the global average.”