China is fast expanding its presence in fisheries markets in Japan and elsewhere, a government report said Friday.
The fiscal 2003 white paper on fisheries says China is the world's largest producer, accounting for about a third of the world's fisheries supply.
China imports huge amounts of fisheries products through consignment processing deals with Russia, the United States and other countries, trailing only Japan in 2000 and 2001 as the world's second-largest importer.
Japan became the world's largest exporter of fisheries products in 1976 with canned seafood and other products, and became a major importer following the so-called Plaza Accord, a 1985 agreement to drive down the value of the dollar against the yen and other major currencies.
China has become Japan's biggest source of imported seafood during the past decade, with shipments of eel and processed seafood to Japan posting a nearly sixfold increase in the last decade.
The report says the Japanese catering industry and retailers are seeking high-quality, low-priced seafood regardless of their origin. It advised the Japanese fisheries industry to enhance value-added products and take additional cost-cutting measures.
The report also refers to an outbreak of carp herpes that killed large numbers of carp in a dozen prefectures late last year. It says the government is promoting immunological research for fish farming.