Asia's largest fisheries expo held in Tokyo... Promoting K-fisheries products = Korean report

The 2024 Tokyo International Fisheries Expo will be held in Tokyo for three days from the 21st to the 23rd. This event is the largest fisheries exposition in Asia, and attracts many visitors, including Korea, one of the largest trading countries for seafood products.
The Japan Fisheries Association, a private Japanese fishing organization, will hold the 26th Tokyo International Fisheries Expo from the 21st to the 23rd at Tokyo Big Sight.
Through the event, Japan, a global consumer of seafood, will introduce its own seafood products and processed products, and various countries and companies will also participate to obtain distribution information.
Last year, South Korea achieved seafood exports worth $3 billion, of which seaweed exports reached $1 trillion for the first time among seafood products.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, together with the National Federation of Fisheries Industry Cooperative Associations, has invested 13.8 billion won (about 1.5 billion yen) this year to promote the event around the world.
They have established a trade support center and are working to develop overseas markets by hosting international expositions and trade consultation meetings. Japan is the largest importer of seafood, with exports exceeding those of the United States and China.
More than 100,000 tons of seafood are exported from Korea to Japan every year, and not only the well-known seaweed, but also tuna, oysters, and abalone are popular in Japan.
South Korea also has strategic export items for Japan. Following seaweed, which is already competing for high quality, live abalone is a representative item. With the price of live abalone from Japan rising,
Korean abalone is now in the spotlight. Korea's close proximity to Japan makes it easy to export live abalone that is not processed, and the high quality of the abalone makes it suitable for a wide range of uses, including as gifts and for eating out.
Following seaweed and abalone, oysters and flounder are expected to become major export items of marine products in the future. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced that Korea is already the world's number one exporter of seaweed and abalone.
In order to foster the power of oysters and flounder, and in line with the recent trend of health interest, the company plans to strengthen its promotion of oysters and flounder. In particular, it plans to promote various cooking methods, such as soup and steak, and to promote their popularity.
In order to promote such Korean initiatives at this year's expo, the National Federation of Fisheries Industry Cooperative Associations will set up a "Korea Pavilion" during the expo.
There will be an opportunity for Korean companies to hold business talks with local buyers and introduce their export products. Participating companies will hold a "Kimmaek (seaweed and beer)" tasting event where they can enjoy seaweed products and Japanese beer together.
The president of the Korea Fisheries Cooperative Association said, "This expo will be an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of Korea's fisheries industry on the global stage."
"We will do our best to make the event a success so that it will become an important step for the Japanese fishing industry to expand overseas."