Might be a stupid question but I am just curious with the quake in Tokyo what has happened with the tuna prices and export? I have never paid attention to where the tuna actually goes but I would imagine it has been effected
I wish everyone affected by this a speedy recovery !
The yen should rise (like it did after the Kobe quake) and as the dollar keeps falling the price should go up.
I'm not going to speculate on the continued strengthening of the Japanese Yen. The Bank of Japan has taken extraordinary measures to prop up the nations currency. It's hard to say how long the Yen will trade at this level, under the exraordinary circumstances. If the Fukushima Nuclear reactor actually melts down, all bets are off.Originally Posted by Trident
The strong Yen will help the returns of American commercial Bluefin fishermen somewhat, but I certainly have to disagree with you about tuna prices going up in Japan. This tragedy is nothing like the Kobe quake. There are going to be at least 10,000 deaths in Japan. It's going to take Japan a decade to recover from this one.
Japan is a very proud and nationalistic society. The Japanese are going to be living a very solemn and austere lifestyle for quite a while as they mourn their tremendous losses. No one is going to be celebrating, festivals and holidays are going to be subdued. People in Japan will not be going out to eat as often or spending as much money. When Emperor Hirohito passed away in 1989, tuna market conditions were weak for at least six months.
Much of northern Honshu has been devasted. The city of Sendai is in ruins. Sendai is an important market for Boston Bluefin. Tuna prices were occasionally higher there than at Tsukiji. The Sendai Central Wholesale market no longer exists.
Tuna market conditions for imported tuna have been very weak in Japan over the past several years. They are only going to get worse. Much worse! I think commercial Bluefin fishermen are going to have to temper their expectations for Japanese aution prices this season. Although prices were not that bad for the small number of domestic tuna at Tsukiji this morning, it's really a bad situation there. It's concievable that the daily high price for top quality Boston Bluefin this season might only be around 3000-3500 Yen/kilo or so. With average hammer prices perhaps as low as 2000 Yen/kilo.
Last edited by Heli Sports; 03-14-2011 at 11:00 PM.
Not sure how I missed your Reply heli but as always its over the top. I though the same on the tuna market. But I have never paid much attention to the commercial side and export of tuna. Just figured it would be the furthest thing from their mind further hurting the commercial sale of tuna.
Out curiosity on a good tuna that meets above and beyond the fresh tuna standards for export and sale what was tuna worth and what is it now worth after the quake. I am sure that its a pretty big difference. I feel terrible for all the people affected and Thankfully NJ has been lucky with natural disasters but we are way over due for a hurricane or two. We have been spared by miles most of the time. I hope they avoid the meltdown it will be a huge tragedy across the board!
I seen amarshal post this in the bluefin quota thread and I just copied and pasted it here and it suits this thread here
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Seafood wholesale market network in Japan paralyzed; oversupply at Tsukiji, shortages elsewhere
Tokyo - March 22, 2011- Seafood wholesale market network in Japan paralyzed due to tsunami damage; products are accumulated in Tsukiji while there is acute shortage of supply in quake-hit areas
The seafood wholesale market network in Japan, centering on Tokyo's Tsukiji Market, has been virtually paralyzed in the aftermath of the confusion brought about by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated broad areas of northern Japan on March 11.
Products have been shipped from various producing places to Tsukiji but remained accumulated there in substantial quantities because fuel for truck transportation is in shortage.
Shipments to Tokyo suburban markets and other markets outside Tokyo are not advancing smoothly, to say nothing of supply to the areas stricken by the disaster.
Consumption capability of highly powerful Tsukiji market has also largely diminished because mass retailers and supermarkets have been refraining from buying fresh food as they are unable to carry out backyard handling and preserve the products for a lengthy time due to the rolling blackout scheme carried out by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Retailers are now giving a greater priority to procuring salted and dried processed products.
By contrast, markets in tsunami-stricken areas, which are striving to restore their infrastructure, continue to find difficulty in procuring fresh food products, making the supply-demand unbalance in Japan even more serious.
To the surprise of market participants, packed scallop from Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, one of the places severely hit by the earthquake and tsunami, was lined up in the wholesale section of Tsukiji market on March 15.
This happened because some processors who evaded the damage had shipped the products immediately after the disaster, in anticipation of power breakdown.
Besides, products were gathered at Tsukiji by air from Hokkaido or by roundabout land transportation from Aomori northern Japan.
But the products, piled up at Tsukiji were not supplied to disaster-mired areas largely because of the stoppage of transportation means.
In Japan's wholesale market network, a large proportion of the products are first gathered at Tsukiji and re-shipped to local markets.
Because of this system, it was not easy to send the products directly to the area suffering from supply shortage. The lack of fuel made it impossible to open new distribution channels to those places at an early date.
Fuel was secured on a priority basis for emergency vehicles heading toward the disaster areas. Ordinary citizens and corporations hastened to compete to ensure their fuel requirement.
In face of this critical situation, the seven major wholesalers at Tsukiji and other dealers urged the government to provide higher priority to supplying fuel for transportation departing from Tsukiji to other areas.
They say that the present problem cannot be solved unless the current distribution channel via Tsukiji, which has been optimized for supply of fresh food products in Japan, is smoothed out.
It is an urgent task to restore the wholesale market distribution channels to have the markets in tsunami-hit areas function, in order to ensure procurement of food for the people striving to restore their living environment.
(Summarized from the Nikkan Suisan Keizai Shimbun)
Since the quake/tsunami, the volume of fresh tuna at Tokyo's Tsukiji market has been down approximately 75-80% daily. There have been very few shipments of imported tuna and much less wild and farmed Japanese tuna on the auction floor each day.
The daily hammer prices for wild Japanese Bluefin are only down a few thousand Yen/Kilo for the daily high price. This time of year the high price for wild Maguro harvested from Northern Japan should be about 12,000 or so Yen/kg. This mornings high price was Y9,500/kg. The average prices for both domestic and imported Bluefin have been reasonable, however this is only because the supplies have been so low. The average auction price for wild Japanese Bluefin was about Y5,000/kg this morning, fairly normal for this time of year, however there were only 7 pcs lined up at Tsukiji. Typically on a Thursday morning this time of year, there would be at least 50 pcs for sale.
The Spanish farms have just resumed shipments this week. Typically, there will be about 30-40 pcs from Spain at Tsukiji each moning. Today there were 19, but the avg. price was a very solid Y3,800/kg. But 7 of the 19 remained unsold after the auction. Interstingly, there were a few nice quality tuna from Greece that achieved good prices this morning.
The fresh Bigeye market has been very poor, with many fish going unsold at auction, in spite of miniscule supplies.
Once some of the refridgeration and logistical problems are ironed out, Japan should be able to absorb more imports, however prices will remain comparatively low. Even relatively moderate production will result in significant portions of imported shipments going unsold at auction.
Traditionally this time of year, market conditions for fresh tuna become fairly strong in Japan as the Cherry Blossom festival season is approaching. During this time, demand is strong as families go out to enjoy the improving weather. It's going to be interesting to see what prices are going to be like in Japan over the next several weeks
Last edited by Heli Sports; 03-24-2011 at 11:55 AM.
With spreading and outfall of radiation, will there be any affect on the markets, health of the species besides the health of the consumer?
I wonder what became of the japanese fishing fleet? Kudos lucky lady for starting this post, I was thinking of our hardworking bluefin hunters as well. Tight lines and bloody darts for all!!
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