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Edible Seaweeds 2005

Edible seaweeds, which are rich in fiber and calorie-free, enjoy wide popularity as alkaline and diet foods. Major edible seaweeds include dried laver, dried kelp, amanori (red laver), hijiki (brown algae), and wakame (seaweed). There are other edible seaweeds as well, such as agar-agar and mozuku (algae-like seaweed).
While kelp, laver, hijiki, and green laver are mainly distributed as dried foodstuffs, wakame is often sold boiled and salt cured.

Export of Japanese Edible Seaweeds

A) Edible Seaweeds

	2001	2002	2003
Dried Laver	2,496	2,250	1,741
Dried Kelp	4,760	4,902	4,393
Others	6,479	8,093	8,924
Total	13,735	15,245	15,058

B) Grilled and Seasoned Laver

	8,121	6,137	5,789
Grand Total	21,856	21,382	20,847

Unit: US$1,000 Source: Foreign Trade Statistics, Ministry of Finance

Main Export Markets

A) Dried Laver

	2001	2002	2003
U.S.A.	1,816	1,848	1,277
Netherlands	95	151	170
Taiwan	9	12	13
Others	576	239	281
Total	2,496	2,250	1,741

B) Dried Kelp

	2001	2002	2003
Taiwan	2,614	3,221	2,600
U.S.A.	722	512	549
Vietnam	324	443	492
China	719	341	429
Others	381	385	323
Total	4,760	4,902	4,393

C) Grilled and Seasoned Laver

	2001	2002	2003
U.S.A.	2,441	2,068	1,947
Taiwan	736	601	637
Hong Kong	616	492	596
Others	4,328	2,976	2,609
Total	8,121	6,137	5,789

Unit: US$1,000 Source: Foreign Trade Statistics, Ministry of Finance

Edible Seaweeds Imported from Overseas

	2001	2002	2003
A) Hijiki	35,016	37,887	45,297
B) Wakame	60,423	65,395	66,763
C) Other edible seaweeds	22,776	22,930	27,069
D) Other seaweed products	8,565	7,638	10,380
Total	126,780	133,850	149,509

Unit: US$1,000 Source: Foreign Trade Statistics, Ministry of Finance

Major Import Markets

A) Hijiki

	2001	2002	2003
Korea	31,548	32,552	36,434
Others	3,468	5,335	8,863
Total	35,016	37,887	45,297

B) Wakame

China	44,972	50,074	50,227
Korea	15,442	15,262	16,536
Others	9	59	0
Total	60,423	65,395	66,763

C) Other Edible Seaweeds

China	9,688	11,129	12,199
Korea	11,172	8,382	11,376
Others	1,916	3,419	3,494
Total	22,776	22,930	27,069

D) Other Seaweed Products

Korea	6,743	6,428	8,928
Others	1,822	1,210	1,452
Total	8,565	7,638	10,380

Unit: US$1,000 Source: Foreign Trade Statistics, Ministry of Finance


6.	As in the case of domestic distribution, wakame is imported boiled and salted while kelp, hijiki, and green laver are imported as dried foodstuffs.

Dried laver, Porphyra and products containing Porphyra, and other seaweeds (Enteromorpha, Monostroma, Kjellmaniella) are designated as IQ (Import Quota) items and therefore, the amount of these imports is limited. At present, it is applied only to Korea. Since 1998, IQ standards have been determined by intergovernmental negotiation between Korea and Japan and the quota has since been increasing year by year: 150 million pieces (19 cm x 21 cm per piece) for FY 2001, 180 million pieces for FY 2002, and 240 million pieces for FY 2003.
To this measure, China claimed that granting such an import trade agreement only to Korea constitutes a significant impediment to free trade and threatened that it may file the case with the World Trade Organization (WTO). This led Japan to lift the ban on import in 2005. However, as of February 2005, the Japanese government is still negotiating with Japanese manufacturers, the Chinese government, and the Chinese private sector and nothing has been determined regarding IQ for China, which was originally planned to start in April. Since most Korean imports involve seaweeds seasoned with cooking oil and salt for use in snack products, the import of Chinese seaweeds will pose a head-on challenge to Japanese seaweed producers. Since China also has a good track record in exporting seaweeds to the United States, thanks to a sushi boom there, and the Chinese production unit cost is cheaper than that of Japanese seaweeds by about ten yen per piece, China will become a real menace to domestic manufacturers (total production of 10 billion pieces) who have long enjoyed an almost exclusive market share.

For laver, the demand has increased by 2 to 3 billion pieces due to increased use for onigiri (rice balls) sold at convenience stores and for sushi at kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi bars). Currently, 60% of the total demand for laver is for commercial use, 30% for household use, and 1% for gifts. At present, most laver is cultivated except for some natural rock laver. Major laver production areas include prefectures located along the coast of the Sea of Ariake (Saga, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto) as well as Hyogo, Kagawa, and Miyagi prefectures. For laver quality, outside characteristics such as a jet black color, a tender texture, and taste are considered as important factors.

Share of Edible Seaweed Imports as of FY 2001

Domestic Production	126
Imports	79
Exports	2
Domestic Supply	203
Imports	38.9

Unit: 1,000 tons Source: Supply and Demand of Food

10.

As mentioned above in 7, part of the edible seaweed imports are regulated by the IQ system. Those who wish to obtain the import quota and import permit must submit three Import Quota Approval Application forms together with other required documents to the Trade Licensing Division, Trade Control Department, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In addition, under the Food Sanitation Law, importers are also required to submit a Food Import Notification form together with other required documents to the food control section of the quarantine station that has jurisdiction over the seaport or airport customs through which the imports come in, and have them quarantined. As a result of the quarantine inspection, those found to be in need of a sanitation inspection must go through additional inspections in the bonded area or the quarantine station before they can finally be permitted to enter.


11.	Differences between Domestic Seaweeds and Imported Seaweeds

	a)Wakame Among domestically produced seaweeds, the most fleshy seaweeds come from Sanriku, those with middle thickness come from Setouchi (area around the Seto Inland Sea: Naruto and Awaji Island), and the thinnest seaweeds come from Kyushu. Seaweeds produced in Korea or China fall between Setouchi and Kyushu in thickness seaweeds and almost all of them are cultured. Chinese seaweeds feature low price and are imported mainly for commercial use.

	b)Kelp Imported cultured kelp and domestic kelp differ in taste and firmness and imports are mainly used by the processing and food service businesses.

	c)Hijiki Imported and domestic natural hijiki differ greatly in color, gloss, and firmness. Domestic hijiki is thicker than imported ones.

	d)Laver For Korean laver, the more greenish and porous it is, the higher the quality and saltier the taste, whereas quality domestic laver has a jet black color, no holes and a tender texture, and does not taste salty.


12.	For distribution channels, domestic seaweeds are sold jointly through a fishermen's union of each prefecture or region. Imports are often sold through trading companies or associations of fishermen's unions around the country that have imported the products from fishermen's unions or exporters overseas.

13.

Regarding the future prospects of seaweeds, exports are expected to decrease due to severe competition with cheap Chinese products. For imports, Chinese products will also increase due to their highly competitive prices.

However, it is expected that there will be no considerable decline in the consumption of edible seaweeds since an awareness of the benefit of seaweeds as a healthy food is beginning to take root.

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