The Japan External Trade Organization will start full-scale support for exports of Japanese yellowtail to the United States, with China's blanket ban on Japanese fishery products still in place, officials have said.
JETRO hopes to help expand sales channels for the fish in the United States, where Japanese cuisine has become popular amid an increase in health conscious consumers, in a bid to further expand yellowtail consumption.
Working with Japan-affiliated food trading companies, JETRO will provide samples to about 10 supermarkets in New York and elsewhere that are considering selling yellowtail from Japan.
JETRO aims to improve the name recognition of yellowtail by offering samples and developing dishes using the fish, in order to create an environment in which the fish is actively bought. It plans to encourage restaurants to add dishes using yellowtail to their menus.
JETRO's campaign to promote yellowtail will be held between mid-February and March, funded with a budget compiled in 2023 to combat reputational damage incurred by food products from Japan.
According to the Japanese government, exports of the fish to the United States doubled over the past 10 years, reaching ¥22.8 billion in 2024. The majority of Japanese yellowtail is used at restaurants, with consumption in U.S. households believed to be very limited.
"We expect consumption of fatty Japanese yellowtail will grow," a JETRO official said.
China's import ban was introduced in 2023 after Japan started to release tritium-containing treated water into the sea from Tokyo Electric Power Company's crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
In September 2024, the Japanese and Chinese governments agreed that Beijing would ease its import restrictions on Japanese fishery products.
A Japanese official, however, said that the outlook remains "uncertain." Japan is working to explore other export destinations.
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