66 



Japan ( Contd.): 



EXPORT PRICE IS UP 

 FOR CANNED SHRIMP 



An increase in the export price of canned 

 shrimp was announced by a leading Japanese 

 producer. The new prices are: 



Can 

 Size 



No, in 

 Case 



Kind 



Price Per 

 Case 



Amount of 

 Increase 



No. 2 

 No. 3 

 No. 2 

 No. 3 



24 



48 

 24 

 48 



Mixed 

 Mixed 

 Broken 

 Broken 



US$ 

 9.00 

 10.80 

 8.00 

 9.60 



US$ 

 0.50 

 0.60 

 0.50 

 0.60 



Of the 150,000 cases (No. 2 - 24/case) pro- 

 duced this year, about 50,000 cases were sold 

 at the first sale. At the second sale, 50,000 

 cases were offered at a higher price andwere 

 sold to the United Kingdom and France with no 

 difficulty. So it is felt that the remaining 

 50,000 cases can be sold at the prices quoted. 

 (Fishery Attache', U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Oct 

 7, 1966.) 



***** 

 SALMON ROE PRICES DROP 



Prices in Japan of salmon roe imported from 

 the United States and Canada have dropped. Im- 

 ports in early October totaled about 2,400 tons 

 (2,100 tons from U.S.; 300 tons from Canada); 

 they exceed the original forecast of 2,000 tons. 

 At least part of the increase was due to a good 

 catch of pink salmon in southern Alaska. 

 Further, a prediction of strong domestic de- 

 mand for roe had been based principally on 

 the increased income of farmers enjoying a 

 good rice harvest. This demand had not 

 helped, possibly because of the sudden in- 

 crease in September imports. 



The retail price of top -quality salmon roe 

 was about US$1.90 a pound for pink, about 

 $2.00 for chum, and $1.75 to $1.90 for red. 

 Second- and third-grade roe sold 2b(^ to 50^ 

 lower. Those prices are about 15 percent 

 below those reported at the beginning of Sep- 

 tember. 



Reasons for Price Drop 



The price drop was attributed to two fac- 

 tors: This year's quality is inferior to last 

 year's, especially for pink salmon roe: the 

 first-grade product this year is equivalent to 

 last year's second-grade product. Second, 



around 1,700 tons of pink roe have been im- 

 ported so far this year and only half has been 

 sold. Some traders are beginning to dump 

 salmon roe on the market, forcing the price 

 down. 



U. S. and Canadian production and export 

 of salmon roe to Japan has increased rapidly 

 during the past 2-3 years. A supply of 2,000 

 tons is reported to be optimum. Some in the 

 industry feel that market conditions were due 

 to the sudden influx of roe and that better- 

 timed deliveries would not have depressed 

 prices. (Fishery Attache, U.S. Embassy, 

 Tokyo, October 4, 1966.) 



***** 



EXPORTS OF CANNED KING CRAB 

 TO UNITED KINGDOM DROP 



Japan will export less than 40,000 cases 

 (48 7-oz. cans) of canned king crab to the 

 United Kingdom in 1966. Originally, 45,000 

 cases had been allocated for export. 



Part of the reason for this small amount 

 is the exceptionally strong domestic demand 

 for king crab- -another reflection of increas- 

 ing Japanese demand for their own higher- 

 priced fish products. (Fishery Attache', U.S. 

 Embassy, Tokyo, Oct. 7, 1966.) 



***** 



U. S. MARKET FOR 

 CANNED TUNA WEAKENS 



The United States market for Japanese 

 canned tuna shows signs of weakening, ac- 

 cording to the chief of the Tuna Division, 

 Japan Canned Goods Export Association, who 

 visited the U.S. September 5-25, 1966. 



This was his evaluation of the American 

 market: the average price of Japanese canned 

 tuna this year is a little higher than last 

 year; the amount sold will be less, increas- 

 ing the inventory in Japan; the Japanese high 

 cost of fish will not allow a price cut; Amer- 

 ican supermarkets are selling tuna at a fairly 

 low price, and it is difficult to move Japan- 

 ese tuna because of the high price (Japan 

 must maintain her share of the market); and 

 the Japanese large can is no longer superior 

 in quality to the American pack; since U. S. 

 companies are making a greater effort to sell 

 their product, Japanese companies should not 

 expect as many sales in the future. 



