Surimi Supply, Demand, and Market of Japan Technical memo

摘要

Surimi, a refined form of minced fish meat, is the raw material used in making a wide range of finished products such as imitation crab meat, chikuwa (broiled surimi product), satuma-age (fried), itatsuki kamaboko (steamed), fish hams, fish sausages, and other seafood analogs (Sonu 1986). Although the technique for making surimi has been practiced in Japan for many centuries, only during the past 40 years has the tradition evolved into a major industrial operation. Japan was once the world's largest producer of surimi. Recently, however, the Japanese production of surimi has dropped significantly due mainly to shortage of supply of fish from domestic and foreign waters, and Japan has become increasingly more dependent on imports for its supply. This need is likely to remain because increased catches of fish in foreign waters by the Japanese fleet are not likely in the near future. Japan is the major user of surimi and the most important export market for U.S. surimi, accounting for 51 percent of U.S. exports of surimi in 2001. This report provides a detailed examination of the Japanese surimi production as well as its imports, exports, supply, demand, and market, in order to identify potential opportunities for export by U.S. surimi producers.