May 31, 2013 — Broiled eel, a dish that is traditionally enjoyed throughout Japan on the Midsummer Day of the Ox, may again be out of reach for many people this year.
According to a Fisheries Agency announcement on May 30, the total amount of elvers (young eel) presently being cultivated in Japan dipped to around 12 tons by the end of April — an additional 25 percent decrease over last year's already low figures.
As more than 99 percent of all domestically consumed eel are farmed, elver numbers have a direct impact on retail sales. While eel farmers' purchase price of one kilogram of elvers was around 300,000 yen in 2006, this year it rose to a staggering 2.6 million yen. The number of eel in circulation peaked in 2000 at 160,000 tons, dipping to 37,000 tons in 2012.
Due to rising farming costs coupled with the total shortage of eel, the wholesale price of live eel stood at 4,560 yen per kilogram during last year's shipping peak in July — a 25 percent increase over the previous year's figures. The price hikes are being felt by consumers, who are now facing steeper eel prices both in specialty restaurants and at the supermarket. In some cases, grocery store prices for broiled eel have risen nearly threefold.
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