TOKYO: Prices of crab, a sought-after delicacy in the year-end and New Year’s period, are surging because of a sharp fall in imports, especially from Russia and Alaska. Imports provide most of the crab distributed in Japan, and wholesale prices are some 30 to 50 percent higher than a year ago. Imports of red king crab, a popular variety, came to about 4,270 tons from January to November, less than half the annual record set in 2012. “This year’s red king crab imports could be on par with the level in 2015, which was the lowest in recent years,” said an official of a major fisheries company.
Imports of snow crab, another popular species, have also been falling recently, industry officials said. Crab from Russia has been dwindling due to tighter regulations on poaching and illegal exports that began about two years ago. Before that, more than 50 percent of Russian crab distributed in Japan was poached, the fisheries company official said. Ports in Hokkaido that used to be busy handling crab from Russia are now quiet. Japan-bound exports of both red king and snow crab from Alaska this year are so far down about 40 percent from the previous year, reflecting the drop in catches. “Although crab stocks in Alaska are not poor at present, catches are reduced this year to ensure sustainable use of resources in the future,” said an official from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
Reflecting the drops from Russia and Alaska, frozen red king crab now goes for between ¥5,000 and ¥7,000 per kilogram at the Tsukiji wholesale fish market in Tokyo, up about 50 percent from a year earlier. Frozen snow crab is going for around ¥2,500 to ¥3,000, up about 30 percent. Both are being sold for more than ¥10,000 per pack at some department stores in the capital. Prices are expected to remain high for the time being because they are increasingly popular “return gifts” under the furusato nozei (hometown tax donation) system, in which people donate to the municipalities and prefectures of their choice to qualify for tax breaks and receive items or services in return, industry sources said. Normally, discount sales for crab start soon after the new year starts. This time, however, sales could be scarce, the sources said.
