62 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 9 



Japan (Contd.): 



fiscal year 1966 (April 1966-March 1967) a 

 budget of 338.6 million yen (US$940,000) for 

 promoting Japan's export trade in agricul- 

 tural and marine products. One -third of the 

 total budget has been allocated for the mass 

 media promotion of pearls and tuna, as fol- 

 lows: tuna pr omoti on 48.5 million yen 

 ($132,000) to be spent in the United States and 

 6 million yen ($17,000) in Europe; pearl pro- 

 motion 20 million yen ($56,000) to be spent in 

 the United States and 30 million yen ($83,000) 

 in Europe. In addition, 36.3 million yen 

 ($100,000) has been budgeted for the support 

 of JETRO personnel stationed in Long Beach, 

 Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and in Venice, 

 Italy. There duties include inspecting de- 

 liveries of Japanese frozen tuna to minimize 

 and adjust claims against shipments and re- 

 porting on fishing, production, and marketing 

 trends. ( Suisan Keizai Shimbun , July 6, 1966.) 



***** 



1965 WHITE PAPER ON TRADE 

 MENTIONS FISHERY PRODUCTS: 



The Japanese Ministry of International 

 Trade and Industry released in June 1966 the 

 1965 "White Paper on Trade." According to 

 the White Paper, Japan's food exports in 1965 

 totaled in value US$344 million--a 6.7-per- 

 cent increase over 1964 exports valued at 

 $322 million. Exports of fresh and frozen 

 marine products decreased 1.3 percent due 

 to the decline in exports of frozen tuna. Ex- 

 ports of processed fish showed a remarkable 

 increase in canned salmon sales (which rose 

 43 percent in value), but the overall gain was 

 only 6.2 percent due to the decline in exports 

 of canned tuna, mackerel, saury, and crab. 



1. Frozen Tuna Exports : Japanese frozen 

 tuna exports in 1965 totaled 165,000 metric 

 tons, valued at $52 million- -a decrease of 

 5.6 percent in quantity and 7.7 percent in 

 value from 1964 exports. This decline is at- 

 tributed to lower catches and to sluggish al- 

 bacore exports resulting from depressed ex- 

 port prices in early 1965. Frozen tuna ex- 

 ports to Italy showed a 26 -percent increase 

 in value, owing to that country's improved 

 foreign currency situation and to brisk tuna 

 demand. On the other hand, exports to the 

 continental United States, Puerto Rico, and 

 American Samoa, respectively, dropped in 

 value by 17, 7.5, and 6.5 percent. The de- 

 cline in exports to the United States was due 

 primarily to poor fishing conditions in the 



Atlantic, depressed frozen tuna prices, and 

 to increased shipments of Atlantic catches 

 back to Japan where demand was rising. 



By species, skipjack exports, though small 

 in quantity compared with other tuna, in- 

 creased twofold. Exports of albacore and 

 yellowfin (the two most important species) 

 increased in quantity by 5 percent but de- 

 creased in value by 8 percent. Tuna loin ex- 

 ports to the United States decreased in value 

 18 percent from 1964 exports. 



Tuna demand in foreign countries is stead- 

 ily increasing, but due to production problems 

 confronting Japanese producers, a significant 

 growth in frozen tuna exports cannot be hoped 

 for. In order to expand exports, more posi- 

 tive efforts should be exerted to develop the 

 tuna resources, conduct marketing research 

 abroad, strengthen the frozen tuna sales sys- 

 tem, and improve production facilities and 

 management efficiency (by reducing man- 

 power costs). At the same time, Japan must 

 develop measures to counter the competition 

 offered by other fishing countries, such as 

 South Korea, Taiwan, and the Soviet Union, 

 which are expanding their fisheries. 



2. Canned Tuna Exports : Japanese canned 

 tuna exports in 1965 totaled 43,000 metric 

 tons (94.6 million pounds) valued at $36 mil- 

 lion, down 2.1 percent in quantity and 5 per- 

 cent in value from 1964. This decrease was 

 due to the decline in canned tuna -in -brine ex- 

 ports to the United States, which normally 

 account for around 50 percent of Japan's 

 canned tuna exports. Canned tuna -in -brine 

 exports to the United States declined by 5.9 

 percent in quantity and 13 percent in value, 

 indicating the expansion of canned tuna pro- 

 duction in Puerto Rico. Exports to West 

 Germany and Canada have grown remarkably, 

 with West Germany buying more institutional 

 packs because of lower costs and Canada im- 

 porting more albacore packed in oil. Canned 

 tuna exports to other countries were stagnant, 

 due to poor catches of tuna species other than 

 albacore, with the result that supply ran low 

 and prices increased. 



Japan's ability to supply canned tuna can- 

 not be said to be adequate due to factors re- 

 stricting canned tuna production, such as the 

 extension of fishing grounds to more distant 

 waters in recent years and the increasing 

 quantity of frozen tuna exported to foreign 

 countries. Besides, increasing productivity 

 would not absorb much of the increased oper- 



