Bigeye Tuna Prices Surging in Japan amid Short Supply

Tokyo, Oct. 3 (Jiji Press)--Wholesale prices for popular frozen bigeye tuna, widely seen in supermarkets and "kaitenzushi" conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Japan, are surging amid poor catches and international fishing regulation. Wholesalers and retailers are concerned that low-priced tuna will become unavailable in the country. Bigeye tuna has long held a major presence in the price segment on the back of abundant supply and therefore lacks substitutes. Bigeye tuna has less fat than bluefin tuna, a prized delicacy often served at high-end sushi restaurants, but is popular in the Kanto region including Tokyo and the northeastern Tohoku region, due to its bright red flesh. It is also used in processed food, including "negitoro" minced fatty tuna. Bigeye tuna is fished around the world. But catches have plunged in the past year or two, reflecting poor takes in the Pacific Ocean and stricter regulation in the Indian Ocean. The amount shipped to Tokyo's Tsukiji wholesale market in September fell some 30 pct from a year before, about half the level in 2012 or before, when the market had plentiful supply. Tsukiji's auctions once processed more than 1,000 bigeye tunas a day, but it now has fewer than 600 shipments on an average day. "My voice used to go hoarse after long auctions. Nowadays, trading ends quickly," said a wholesale dealer at Tsukiji, sounding sad about the tuna shortage. In September, per-kilogram wholesale prices for mainstay bigeye tunas of more than 40 kilograms were around 1,150 yen, up about 20 pct from a year earlier. Low-rated bigeye tunas of the same size saw increases of about 50 pct to 950 yen. The impact is also felt at retail level. Supermarkets and other retailers no longer sell bigeye tuna at special discounts frequently. An official at a major kaitenzushi chain noted difficulty making profit with tuna. Tuna sellers tried to increase sales of yellowfin tuna as a substitute but had to give up the idea. The fish is "also facing price rises, as it is popular in the Chubu central and Kansai western regions," a Tsukiji wholesale company official explained. Albacore tuna, used to make canned products, was also considered a bigeye tuna substitute, but the idea does not look promising because its flesh is pink, not red, the official said. With no key substitute, the shortage of bigeye tuna is seen escalating in autumn, when demand rises, causing retail prices to increase around the turn of the year. END