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SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [BANR Japan Report] - September 3, 2010 - Meat for the first time outstrips seafood in Japan's household food spending; analysts foresee difficulty in recovery of seafood. Average household spending on seafood in Japan in July aggregated Y6,131, according to the recent survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Telecommunication. The Ministry surveyed households having two or more members throughout the country. It also said that spending on meat came to Y6,133, only Y2 higher than seafood, but for the first time outstripping seafood since 1963 when the ministry launched the survey under the present categories. Because of fierce summer heat during the month, seafood purchase in July saw a large drop as consumers refrained from buying less durable seafood, while meat (considered as stamina food) experienced a rather mild decline. Until last month, seafood spending had constantly exceeded that for meat in the Japanese household economy. After the introduction of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 1977, price hikes of seafood expanded the gap in spending between seafood and meat in the former's favor, although westernization of food life progressed in Japan. The gap further widened during the so-called “economic bubble period” that followed, when consumers actively sought to eat tasty and costly fish at home as well. But seafood consumption gradually shrank after the collapse of the bubble economy. It became commonplace for housewives to take part-time work, which prompted them to refrain from buying fish which takes time for cooking and clearing up. Conversely, demand shifted to meat, which is relatively cheap and easy to cook and enables full consumption. The decline in fish consumption has become conspicuous during the past two to three years when the baby boom generation in their sixties (many of them fond of fish) went into retirement. Meat, on the other hand, continued to have strong demand for younger generations, with consumption staying almost unchanged. It has been considered natural that meat spending would surpass that of seafood sooner or later. The violent heat in July this year is said to have finally triggered the reversal. Family expenditures on seafood in July staged a drop of 6.0%, the largest margin of decline this year, while those on meat sustained relatively minor fall of 2.4%. As strong summer heat continued throughout August, it is anticipated that seafood spending for that month might see even an larger decline than in July. Add to that, lackluster landings of saury, a seasonal fish, was widely publicized, causing shoppers to keep away from fish corners of sales outlets. Seafood marketers are concerned that this may plant the image of “expensive fish” in the mind of consumers. Taking advantage of the yen's rally against the dollar, retailers are actively staging special bargain sales for both seafood and meat. Marketers are now watching closely how consumers will react to such sales drives amid the current deflationary economy. They are also attentive to whether sales of seafood will recover as the fall fishing season goes into full swing, although the summer heat is likely to stay for some time to come. However, some analysts have a critical view about the sales of seafood in a long-term range. Recent studies question the assumption that Japanese people will adopt a heavier fish diet as they grow older after choosing to eat meat in their younger years. It is pointed that consumers, who were not used to eating seafood when young, may not be likely shift to a seafood-centered food life when they grow older. The analysts point out demand for seafood will remain strong up to the first baby boomer generations who have formed the habit of eating fish from childhood. The Japanese under that age bracket were raised with bread and milk through school lunch, while a later generation became accustomed to a western food lifestyle from early childhood. Now it is quite common for a typical Japanese family not to have a fish carving knife. The routine menu for them is represented by such food as hamburg steak, curry foods and fried chicken. Fishing sources analyze that this is a critical situation pointing to a vicious circle in which “the children of parents who do not eat fish may not eat fish either.”