SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton March 7, 2013 — Reports from Hokkaido on meetings recently of the Hokkaido Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations regarding EU import requirements suggest a new push to sell scallops into Europe.
Currently the EU imports around 30,000 tons of scallops, of which about 5000 tons is fresh. Over 50% of the imports come from Peru, Chile and Argentina.
The surge into the EU market from Latin America largely began after Japanese shipments of scallops with roe were banned in 1992. This ban was lifted in 2002, but sales never recovered, only running around 500 to 1000 tons of roe on scallops per year.
Last year, imports were hurt due to fears about radiation following the Fukujima disaster.
For 2013, Hokkaido producers see new opportunities. Two new harvest areas have been designated acceptable for shipments to the EU, and Hokkaido scallops do have a following in high end European restaurants.
Further, about half of the Hokkaido frozen scallops shipped to the US are then repackaged (soaked) and sent to Europe.
A source from the meeting said that the hope was that with the HACCP certification from the EU, the amount of re-exports through the US could be reduced. This would open more opportunities for direct sales.
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