China Rejects Japan’s $500 Million Seafood Order | India’s Attempt to Take Over the Market Fails!

China Rejects Japan’s $500 Million Seafood Order | India’s Attempt to Take Over the Market Fails!

Just last month, Beijing officially announced a full suspension on importing all seafood products from Japan. Immediately after, a large number of Japanese seafood orders originally destined for China were urgently cancelled. According to forecasts, this ban could cost Japan more than $500 million over the next year. Faced with such a huge loss, Japanese fishermen are naturally deeply worried. But at the same time, India’s seafood exporters seem to see a new business opportunity. Some are even eager to pop champagne in advance. That’s because India’s seafood exports have long been suppressed by the United States hefty tariffs of up to 50%. Now with Japan’s absence in the Chinese seafood market, India hopes to seize the moment and take over the share Japan has lost. But the question is, will China actually consider importing seafood from India? If you like our video content, please click to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can receive all our latest video content. Now, let’s get into today’s topic. [Music] When it comes to India, this nation of 1.4 billion people, many people’s first impressions might be curryed street snacks, overcrowded train stations, or trains packed with people hanging off the sides. But what you may not know is that India is actually a major seafood exporter. Looking at the map, India is surrounded by the sea on three sides with a coastline stretching more than 7 500 km. It sits in tropical waters, one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world. The seawater here is warm. Marine life grows quickly and the variety of species far exceeds that of higher latitude regions. To the west, the Arabian Sea has high salinity, suitable for large commercial fish species. While to the east, the Bay of Bengal is rich in nutrients and especially abundant in shrimp resources. Under these conditions, India alone enjoys the typical characteristics of two major oceans, making it naturally an ideal zone for seafood production. As far as I know, India’s national fishery resources currently cover an area of 34,000 km. And because it is close to the Indian Ocean, one of the world’s most important maritime routes, it not only makes offshore fishing convenient, but also significantly reduces export transportation costs. Thanks to this geographic advantage, India has long become a major hub for seafood processing and exports. At present, most of India’s seafood is exported to the Middle East, the EU, and the United States. In addition to resource and location advantages, the Indian government has spent the past decade continuously investing in building fishery bases, aquaculture farms, cold chain logistics, and processing factories. It has also introduced policies to provide subsidies and tax incentives for export companies. These measures combined with its natural geographic strengths have helped Indian seafood gradually gain a solid foothold in the international market. According to official data from 2024, India’s total seafood export value reached about 7.4 billion US with an export volume of 1.7 million tons. These Indian seafood products are mainly shipped to the United States, China, the European Union, and Southeast Asian countries. Among them, the United States has always been India’s largest export market, consistently accounting for around 35% of total exports. Within all of India’s seafood export categories, shrimp is undoubtedly the core product, especially white leg shrimp, which alone makes up about 70% of total export value. In 2024 alone, the US purchased 47% of India’s shrimp. These white-legged shrimp depart from the Arabian Sea, pass through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean and eventually reach the US East Coast with the entire journey taking roughly 25 days. But now Indian seafood suppliers can no longer rely on the US market at all. What exactly happened? We all know that after Trump came to power, he began imposing massive tariffs on Indian goods in order to gain more leverage in international negotiations. On July 31st, the US government signed an executive order stating that starting August 7th, most Indian goods entering the US would be subject to a 25% tariff. Then on August 6th, the US added another 25% citing India’s direct or indirect import of Russian oil as the reason. With these two policies combined, Indian products were effectively hit with tariffs as high as 50% which officially took effect on August 27th. This wave of tariffs cast a wide net mainly targeting labor intensive low value added export industries such as apparel, leather goods, furniture and seafood. Many Indian export companies had relied on low prices to compete. But once tariffs surged, price advantages disappeared. Exports naturally became difficult and many processing plants were forced to shut down. India’s seafood industry was among the first to take a heavy blow. After all, the US is India’s largest seafood export market, accounting for 1/3 of its share. High tariffs affected not only aquaculture and fishing, but also the entire upstream and downstream supply chain, including seafood processing, cold chain transportation, packaging, and logistics. Frozen shrimp was hit the hardest. These products had previously been a key source of supply from major US retailers such as Walmart. But once the 50% tariff took effect, a large number of American clients cancelled their orders and future export plans had to be put on hold. According to data released by India in October alone, India’s seafood exports to the US fell 9% yearonear and the millions of jobs relying on this industry have become dangerously unstable as a result. To ease the crisis, the Indian government urgently approved a $5 billion relief package specifically aimed at supporting export oriented industries such as seafood and textiles. Although this offers short-term breathing room, long-term dependence on government subsidies is not a sustainable solution. So the most critical question for India now is how to find a new market capable of absorbing this export volume. And this is why India has shifted its seafood export focus toward China. What exactly is going on? China is a massive consumer market with a population of 1.4 4 billion and it is also the world’s second largest seafood importer. Although China’s domestic aquaculture industry is highly developed, it still cannot meet the country’s growing demand for seafood. In 2024 alone, China’s total seafood imports reached approximately$18 billion US. Within this market, Japan has long held a dominant position as the core supplier of high-end seafood products. Before all this, Japan’s annual exports to mainland China were roughly maintained at around $560 million US, mainly consisting of shellfish, mollisks, sea cucumbers, and other mid to high-end categories. Many Chinese consumers when eating Japanese cuisine naturally regard Japanese seafood as premium products. Whether it’s scallops, sea urchins, or tuna, these names are almost instinctively associated with Japanese quality. But everything took a sharp turn in November 2025. A series of inappropriate remarks by the Japanese prime minister directly triggered China’s decision to fully halt seafood imports from Japan. A few days later, about four tons of Japanese seafood that had just arrived at port and were ready to enter the market were immediately sent back. and all previously confirmed orders were canceled at once for the Chinese market which had long been highly reliant on Japanese imports. This kind of sudden vacuum period is extremely rare. At this critical moment, Indian seafood exporters believe this might be the first opportunity in years for India’s seafood industry to compete head-on with Japan in the Chinese market. If they could seize this window period, they might be able to secure a place in Asia’s seafood supply landscape. But very quickly, a bucket of cold water was poured directly over India’s expectations. If we look at the product structure, you’ll find that India simply cannot replace Japan’s position in the Chinese market. The reason is that Japan exports high value added seafood such as scallops, tuna, and sea cucumbers from Hokkaido, primarily serving high-end Japanese restaurants and middle-class households. These products emphasize origin and freshness, and many are consumed directly as sashimi. India’s products, however, whether in terms of farming environments or processing standards, are not suitable for sushimi. On top of that, Chinese consumers care greatly about the origin of seafood. In high-end dining, especially, a country’s overall sanitation standards heavily influence how its seafood exports are perceived. In comparison, among the many seafood products India exports, the main focus is frozen shrimp. These products target mass consumption, sold to supermarkets and wet markets, competing on low prices and large volumes. They simply are not in the same category as high-end seafood used in Japanese cuisine and therefore cannot serve as substitutes. So the idea that India could take this opportunity to enter China’s high-end seafood market is basically unrealistic. In my view, India will also face an even stronger competitor if it wants to enter the Chinese market and that is China’s domestic seafood supply chain. It’s important to note that China itself is the world’s largest aquaculture producer, especially when it comes to white leg shrimp. The very category that India relies on has long been produced in China at extremely low cost. In places such as Hainan and Shandong, as well as virtually all coastal cities in China, white leg shrimp farms have been established on a massive scale. With the industry already operating in a fully standardized and industrialized manner, China’s annual production exceeds 1.6 million tons, accounting for 38% of global output. Against this backdrop, India’s attempt to enter the Chinese market becomes even more challenging. It is also worth mentioning that as early as 2022, 35 Indian companies were suspended from exporting to China due to hygiene issues. This is because India’s seafood industry is dominated by small and medium-sized farms which account for as much as 70%. Most of these small farmers cannot afford the costs of water purification, sanitation, and disinfection leading to frequent violations during processing. Combined with an underdeveloped cold chain system, low port handling efficiency and a transportation loss rate of up to 35%. The problems compound further. In addition, Indian seafood products have repeatedly been found in multiple countries to contain excessive antibiotic residues and even ban substances. With this level of product quality, even if Indian exporters feel full of confidence, it would still be difficult to gain acceptance from Chinese consumers, not to mention passing China’s customs standards. But now, China has already found another supplier capable of replacing Japanese seafood. And that supplier is Spain. On November 27th of this year, China’s General Administration of Customs issued an announcement stating that effective immediately, eligible Spanish farmed aquatic products are allowed to enter the Chinese market. You might wonder why Spain. Within Europe, Spain is one of the countries with the largest quotas for bluefin tuna. The tuna they catch comes from the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Both widely recognized as the world’s highest quality tuna regions. In particular, southern Spain uses an ancient trapnet fishing method known as Almadraa. Bluefin tuna caught this way is known for its delicate texture, rich fat content, and deep red color. Even Japan’s sushi industry calls it the best bluefin tuna in Europe. Moreover, as an EU member state, Spain offers strong guarantees in cold chain logistics, standardization, and safety supervision. On top of that, China and Spain have long established a mature cooperation framework in agricultural trade. So, I believe Chinese consumers will also have a high level of trust in seafood supplied by Spain. Data shows that in the first 10 months of 2025, seafood imports from Spain through the Shenzhen port reached 100 million renmanb, a year-on-year growth of 47.3%. And that is just data from a single port. The newly approved import categories this time also include salmon, grouper, white leg shrimp, oysters, and several other hot selling products in the Chinese market. It is foreseeable that Spain’s seafood exports to China will continue to grow. In contrast, Indian seafood appears to face even greater difficulty entering the Chinese market. So, how would you evaluate India seafood? To not miss out on our future projects and news updates, please make sure you subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications. We will continue to provide you with more exciting and interesting content.

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#China #ChinaNews #Japan #Seafood #Salmon #AquaticProducts #Taiwan #India #Shrimp #Fisheries #Farmers

Just last month, Beijing officially announced a complete suspension of all seafood imports from Japan. Immediately following, a large number of Japanese seafood orders originally intended for export to China were urgently cancelled.

It is predicted that this ban could cost Japan more than $500 million over the next year. Seeing such huge losses, Japanese fishermen are naturally worried.

But at the same time, Indian seafood merchants seem to see a new business opportunity, with some even eagerly celebrating.

Currently, Indian seafood exports are suppressed by the high 50% tariff imposed by the United States. Now, with the absence of Japanese seafood in the Chinese market, India hopes to seize the opportunity to replace Japan’s lost market share.

But the question is: Will China really consider importing seafood from India?
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