Cheap Japanese scallops flood into Vietnam

Japanese scallops were once considered a high-end delicacy costing millions of VND per kilogram, but are now more popular and cheaper than before. Ms. Mai Anh ( Hanoi ) said that last year she bought scallops of 155-158 shells per kilogram for about 300,000 VND, and now they are only 150,000 VND. Thanks to the affordable price and high nutritional value, she often buys this type of seafood to prepare for her family to enjoy.

In Ho Chi Minh City, many businesses also import Japanese scallops for sale. Currently, each kilogram of 20-25 scallops costs about 550,000 VND, down 30% compared to before.

The CEO of a large seafood chain in Ho Chi Minh City said that previously only a few businesses imported this type of seafood, but now the number of businesses has increased several times, so the price is competitive. In order to attract more customers, in addition to frozen goods, his system has imported whole live scallops since the beginning of this year. The price of fresh scallops is higher than frozen goods, but thanks to the superior quality, sales have tripled compared to the beginning of the year.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) cited data from the Japanese Ministry of Finance , saying that in the first half of this year, Japan exported 13,075 tons of shell-on scallops to Vietnam. This amount increased 21 times compared to the same period last year. Import prices decreased, on average down nearly 50%, to around 231 yen (equivalent to 40,000 VND) per kilogram.

Explaining the reason why Japanese scallops are flocking to Vietnam, according to Mr. Tan - Director of a distribution company in Ho Chi Minh City, after China banned seafood imports from Japan due to the wastewater discharge incident from the Fukushima nuclear plant, this country was forced to expand its market. Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries became their new, attractive consumer markets.

In addition to being a consumer market, Vietnam has also become a place to process scallops for Japan. Factories in Vietnam are piloting the processing of Hokkaido scallops, then exporting them back to Japan to supply restaurants and retailers. According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, in the first 7 months of the year, Vietnamese people spent 101.5 million USD to import seafood from Japan, including scallops, salmon, octopus and herring.