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Aeon Extends MSC Products to 17 Items

May 21, 2010

Aeon is slated to extend the marketing of its MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) eco-labeled private brand "Top Value" beginning on the 22nd. Seven products (17 items), the largest number handled in retailers in Japan, will be sold at its group stores of JUSCO, SATY, MaxValu, and AEON SUPERCENTER, a total of about 1,200 locations. This undertaking corresponds to "World Biodiversity Day" on the 22nd.

The Company launched into the marketing of MSC labeled products in November 2006, developing a product line of "TopValu Green Eye" that consisted of three products (eight items), soy sauce marinated salmon roe, salted wild sockeye salmon, and flathead flounder.

This time, the existing products under "TopValu Green Eye" have been renovated as "TopValu." In addition, a new lineup has become part of the list: "Salted Mackerel (Norway)" (four slices for \198); "Soy Sauce Marinated Trout Roe (Russia)" (70g for \398) and "Soy Sauce Marinated Sockeye Salmon Roe (US)" (95g for \398).

This project has been executed under "AEON Biodiversity Policies" formulated in March. The Company made a comment on an increase in MSC labeled products: "This is our way of showing that the Company contributes to the protection of marine resources and the preservation of biodiversity by offering opportunities for consumers to experience firsthand marine products created by sustainable fisheries. The Company is willing to continue suggesting environmentally friendly products that preserve limited marine resources."

The original article was published on May 21, 2010 and was translated by Kiyo Hayasaka.

Frozen Tuna: Shaky Supply Despite Consumption Comeback

May 21, 2010

According to one tuna wholesaler, frozen tuna consumption, which had been lethargic due to a worldwide economic downturn caused by a collapse of subprime loans, has lately shown signs of recovery. The cooperating weather during this year's Golden Week Holidays further boosted consumption of tuna. Nevertheless, with an unrelenting trend of low prices at mass retailers, a product priced higher than \298 (100g) at retailers exhibits stagnation. For this reason, when a supply decline in frozen tuna, as a raw material, triggers a hike in port auction prices, it will adversely affect sales.

As a consequence of a recession set off by a subprime loan crisis in autumn two years ago, frozen tuna sales and prices were forced to become sluggish. A luxury item of Mediterranean bluefin tuna witnessed a price plummet from \4,000 to \2,800/kg, ending in a saturation of stocks that had nowhere to go. However, after all, the stocks gradually found their way to market. The consumption of frozen bigeye tuna as a deli product is progressively getting better; tuna processors in Shizuoka Prefecture are now actively operating.

Predicted Arrival Increase from April to May

A stakeholder of a tuna wholesaler said, "Tuna consumption is coming back. During the period of April to May a concentrated number of fishing boats and tender ships enter ports, leaving us a great deal of supply. The port price of medium size bigeye runs from \800 to 850/kg, satisfying a store price level of \298/g. Yet, poor catches in the Indian Ocean and shaky catches seen in the Pacific that were great last year are our concerns for this year. Furthermore, fishing quota contractions of newly emerging counties, like China, because of more stringent stock management and also increasing fuel prices again, which caused partial fishing halt of Taiwanese vessels; these things can affect the tuna supply." He predicted a tad bit of supply decline in the near future.

He further stated: "Because of enlarging sizes of purse seiners, PS yellowfin tunas have begun to be marketed as sashimi. We will start to see some issues involving PS yellowfin, like a formulation of PS yellowfin handling manual. What is indispensible to longline fisheries of not only Japan but other countries is tuna processors and distributors. It is about time for not only Japan but other nations to have a solid vision of how we will maintain tuna longline fisheries over the next ten years."

The original article was published on May 21, 2010 and was translated by Kiyo Hayasaka.

Comparing Previous Fiscal Year's Transaction Volumes, Amounts, and Unit Prices of Leading Seafood Companies

May 18, 2010

Maruha Nichiro Suisan: Surimi Declines by 10,000 tons

The transaction volume of Maruha Nichiro Suisan totaled 228,000 tons, a drop of about 13,000 tons from the previous year's result (241,000 tons). The average unit price fell by \57; the value amount decreased \23.2 billion from the prior year.

Surimi exhibited the largest decline, which was 10,000 tons. Northern and Southern frozen fish varieties, crab, octopus, and squid went down as well; their unit prices also slumped.

Despite a rise of 1,500 tons in shrimp, its unit price plunged so much that sales fell short of the last year's performance. Tuna likewise increased its amount by 20 percent; however its unit price tumbled by 20 percent, leading to a 4 percent drop in sales.

Nippon Suisan: Plunging Unit Prices Result in Sales Decline Despite Increase in Surimi

Nippon Suisan experienced declines in major commodities of crab, shrimp, salmon/trout, and cod roe, except for an increase of 11,000 tons in surimi. Unit prices, other than salmon/trout, all plunged. Salmon/trout and cod roe monetarily caused a painful blow to the Company.

Though surimi rose to 38,500 tons, its unit price showed a serious drop of 36 percent, ending in a sales decline of \1.2 billion. Salmon/trout went down by more than 7,000 tons, totaling 34,136 tons; in spite of a 6 percent rise in unit price, total losses were \3.6 billion, the biggest loss among major fish items.

Cod roe shrank by \3.5 billion. Additionally, its volume decreased 1,157 tons. The unit price also slumped 24 percent.

Kyokuyo: Plunges in Unit Prices Lead to Revenue Decline

The total transaction volume of Kyokuyo displayed a slight fall; slumping unit prices were the direct cause of a sales contraction. During the first half of the fiscal term, Northern fish, such as flounder, experienced reductions and the retail prices of high unit price commodities, such as crab, plummeted; cumulating in a \3.6 billion loss in sales. Salmon/trout and blue-backed fish varieties (mackerel, saury, herring, etc.) increased. In contrast, Northern fish varieties exhibited large decreases.

Profit-wise, the Company generated profits by making conscious efforts to develop and sell Matsubara stingfish fillets and added value products, such as shrimp and salmon; profits were also buoyed by a rigorous practice of buying the right amount at the right time.

	FY Ended March 2010			FY Ended March 2009			Year-Over-Year Comp.
	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price
Southern Fish	10,849	6,505	600	13,286	8,250	621	81.7%	78.8%	96.6%
Northern Fish	48,135	15,593	324	49,738	18,205	366	96.8%	85.7%	88.5%
Salmon/Trout	25,649	16,839	657	25,417	16,579	652	100.9%	101.6%	100.8%
Fish Roe	8,523	10,454	1,227	8,189	11,327	1,383	104.1%	92.3%	88.7%
Bonito	52	19	365	51	14	275	102.0%	135.7%	132.7%
Tuna	7,066	14,515	2,054	5,893	15,113	2,565	119.9%	96.0%	80.1%
Octopus/Squid	16,406	10,960	668	16,587	13,059	787	98.9%	83.9%	84.9%
Shrimp	42,792	41,489	970	41,030	43,255	1,054	104.3%	95.9%	92.0%
Crab	5,989	8,841	1,476	7,523	12,820	1,704	79.6%	69.0%	86.6%
Shellfish	13,278	15,105	1,138	12,593	15,008	1,192	105.4%	100.6%	95.5%
Surimi	30,893	9,843	319	40,975	19,508	476	75.4%	50.5%	67.0%
Others	18,211	14,104	774	19,744	14,396	729	92.2%	98.0%	106.2%
Total	227,844	164,269	721	241,028	187,534	778	94.5%	87.6%	92.7%

	FY Ended March 2010			FY Ended March 2009			Year-Over-Year Comp.
	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price
Salmon/Trout	34,136	24,719	724	34,136	24,719	684	100.0%	100.0%	105.8%
Surimi	38,539	11,819	307	38,539	11,819	477	100.0%	100.0%	64.4%
Shrimp	10,052	9,659	961	10,052	9,659	1,018	100.0%	100.0%	94.4%
Cod Roe	4,694	5,549	1,182	4,694	5,549	1,547	100.0%	100.0%	76.4%
Crab	3,195	5,663	1,773	3,195	5,663	1,902	100.0%	100.0%	93.2%
Total	133,006	83,147	625	133,006	83,147	708	94.7%	83.6%	88.3%

	FY Ended March 2010			FY Ended March 2009			Year-Over-Year Comp.
	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price	Quantity	Amount	Unit Price
Salmon/Trout	25,790	15,765	611	25,096	15,023	599	102.8%	104.9%	102.0%
Southern Fish	6,419	3,817	595	6,890	4,240	615	93.2%	90.0%	96.7%
Northern Fish	38,272	15,894	415	39,939	17,508	438	95.8%	90.8%	94.7%
Shrimp	19,777	16,711	845	19,700	17,283	877	100.4%	96.7%	96.4%
Crab	3,817	5,970	1,564	3,770	6,762	1,794	101.2%	88.3%	87.2%
Blue-BackedFish	6,348	2,032	320	5,432	2,064	380	116.9%	98.4%	84.2%
Fish Roe	3,149	4,136	1,314	2,915	4,223	1,449	108.0%	97.9%	90.7%
Others	5,739	3,560	620	6,358	4,357	685	90.3%	81.7%	90.5%
Total	109,310	67,886	621	110,100	71,460	649	99.3%	95.0%	95.7%

The original article was published on May 18, 2010 and was translated by Kiyo Hayasaka.

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