Scotland strengthens ties with Japan

Adam Wing reports from a key trade show in Tokyo, where the Scottish seafood industry was well represented.

In August, a team from Seafood Scotland co-hosted a delegation of eight Scottish seafood companies at the Japan International Seafood & Technology Expo in Tokyo. Working in partnership with the UK Government and Seafish, we were able to showcase the absolute best of what Scotland had to offer across the pavilion.

We’ve been doing this for nine years, so seeds sown several years ago are now coming to fruition.

The Japanese market is an increasingly important target for Scottish seafood exports, with sales of Scottish mackerel continuing to rise and salmon still in a post-Covid recovery phase, reinforcing Japan’s desire to import the highest quality products – something that Scotland has in abundance.

Adam Wing (centre) demonstrates Scottish salmon

Japan is a fascinating place to do business, with attractive – and reducing – trade tariffs for UK seafood exporters, particularly Scottish salmon and mackerel producers. This gives us an advantage over non-EU countries such as Norway, and it’s been so satisfying to see Scottish companies gain a stronger foothold in the attractive Japanese market as a result of our commitment to the annual event.

Compared to last year, the 2024 Expo was busier, particularly on the last day, with a wider spread of nations attending. We observed more countries represented this time around, notably those that we consider to be our competition – such as Ireland. However, our collective Scottish seafood brand remains strong in Japan and fruitful connections were made.

The companies attending – Ace Aquatec, Associated Seafoods, Denholm Seafoods, Hebridean Smokehouse, Lunar Freezing, Macduff, the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation and Wester Ross Salmon – exemplify the diversity and quality of Scottish seafood. As well as mackerel and salmon, oysters, lobster, langoustines and crab featured on the pavilion.

It was clear to us all that buyers understand and appreciate the premium quality and provenance of Scottish seafood.

A key opportunity we have identified as a direct result of attending involves the World Sushi Championships, which are held alongside the Expo. We met with the chair of the All-Japan Sushi Association which organises the Championships. Scottish Development International’s Senior Trade Advisor in Japan, Keigo Yoshida and I have opened discussions about partnering with the championships next year with a view to Scottish salmon and mackerel featuring in the competition. While discussions are at an early stage, I am hopeful that we will be able to agree terms as this would shine a deserving spotlight on Scottish salmon and mackerel in Japan.

Chef Nobu Kurihara conducting a demonstration

Mackerel is deservedly having a moment in the – land of the rising – sun. Exports have grown exponentially since 2019, with volume sales rising from around 1.5m kilos to more than 15m kilos in that timeframe, according to e-stat, a Japanese government statistics portal site. This has led to Scotland accounting for almost 20% of the total market share of mackerel in Japan.

We see the species acting as a driver to accelerate export opportunities across a range of Scottish species, farmed and wild.

Interestingly, we got a lot of enquiries about langoustines too.

During the Expo we visited Aeon supermarket, the biggest supermarket chain in Japan. The mackerel buyer’s enthusiasm for our mackerel was quite something! He explained that the key driver for him is the consistent quality he receives. It arrives with him as frozen whole product.  Some is sold frozen “as is” whereas other products are defrosted and filleted for selling in the chiller cabinets as smaller packs. It’s good to see the opportunities for Denholm Seafood and Lunar in this respect, as there is definitely an opportunity to upsell here.

Seafood from Scotland on display

Another visit was to the world’s biggest fish market, Toyuso in Tokyo, with Wester Ross Salmon in attendance. We saw Scottish salmon being brought into the market. It’s not sold under auction – unlike the famous tuna sales that also take place there – but it was gratifying to see Scottish salmon earning its spot in such a prestigious marketplace.

In terms of company trade deals, that will be for the individual companies to announce. However, I know that Ace Aquatec launched their A-Biomass camera at the Expo, an underwater camera that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence which could ultimately transform the way fish farmers monitor and grade their fish stock. They had a lot of interest at their stand which was great to see.

Elsewhere, Wester Ross Salmon told me they struck a deal on the last day of the show to supply Scottish salmon to a trade buyer. Details to follow no doubt!

Adam Wing is Seafood Scotland’s Head of Trade Marketing for the UK, Asia and the Middle East.