Fresh seafood for sashimi and sushi. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) is expecting an increase in Japanese seafood exports to Malaysia this year in view of the boom in the tourism industry and the weak yen.
Managing director of Jetro Kuala Lumpur, Koichi Takano, said expectations of better economic growth in Malaysia will also boost demand for Japanese seafood.
“The Japanese government has carefully explained the safety of Japanese seafood based on scientific evidence in accordance with international standards and taking all possible safe precautions,” he told Bernama.On Aug 24, last year, Japan started discharging treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, wrecked by a massive tsunami in 2011, into the ocean.
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that the release of the Advanced Liquid Processing System treated water into the sea planned by Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the nuclear plant, has negligible radiological impact on environment and people.
“We are supporting Malaysian distributors, restaurants and retailers to import more Japanese products, including seafood and processed foods,” Takano said.
He said that based on the latest official government trade statistics from Japan, Japan exported 4.369 billion yen of marine products, such as fish, fish eggs, crustaceans and canned marine products, to Malaysia from January to December 2023, a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
