China’s seafood ban affects over 700 Japanese exporters, report says

Teikoku Databank reported on Friday that China’s suspension of Japanese seafood imports after the wastewater release from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant had affected over 700 Japanese food exporters.

The market research firm noted that 727 Japan-based companies exported food products to China, or 8% of all Japanese business entities that export goods to China.

Teikoku Databank also highlighted 316 Japanese companies that export food products to Hong Kong. The financial hub said this week it would immediately put in place import controls on Japanese seafood from 10 regions.

Yesterday Japan began to release over 1 million cubic tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant, which urged Chinese authorities to impose an immediate ban on all aquatic products from the island country.

Still, details on the specific aquatic products that have been banned were not provided.

Roughly $600 million worth of aquatic product exports were shipped from Japan to China last year. China and Hong Kong are the two largest markets for Japanese exports.

Also on Friday, South Korea announced that it would considerably expand radiation testing of farmed seafood. Authorities will conduct at least 4,000 additional tests at private institutions by the end of 2023 on farmed seafood products prior to shipping them, Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon told reporters at a news briefing.