Japan’s nuclear waste water｜The Hong Kong government intends to ban 10 counties of aquatic products and oyster importers.
[Yahoo News Report]Japan will discharge Fukushima’s treated nuclear sewage into the sea as soon as next month. The Hong Kong government plans to ban the import of aquatic products from 10 prefectures including Miyagi Prefecture in Japan into Hong Kong. A Hong Kong oyster importer said in an interview with “Yahoo News” that Miyagi Prefecture is the main production area of Japanese oysters, and it is estimated that the business volume may plummet by half after the ban. He emphasized that the Japanese side has tested food radiation levels, and criticized the Hong Kong government’s lack of scientific basis for selecting 10 counties for embargo. The Bureau of Environment and Ecology replied to “Yahoo News” that the plan to discharge nuclear wastewater is unprecedented. The SAR government must carefully deal with the risk of food safety in the early stage of the discharge. The relevant departments will observe for a period of time after the discharge begins, and more monitoring and scientific data will be available. , to further examine the impact of nuclear wastewater discharge plans on food safety.
Miyagi Prefecture is one of the prefectures rich in Japanese oysters. Miyagi Prefecture is adjacent to Fukushima Prefecture, and local aquatic products will be banned from import by the SAR government. The picture shows Japanese fishermen cleaning oysters. (File photo, MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)
The Hong Kong government announced earlier that once Japan discharges nuclear sewage, it will ban the import of aquatic products from 10 prefectures in Japan, including Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano, and Saitama, including all live, Frozen, refrigerated, dried or otherwise preserved seafood, sea salt, and raw or processed seaweed. However, the Center for Food Safety has recently updated its guidelines, saying that if the aquatic products do not originate from the controlled counties but are transshipped, they are not subject to this restriction.
Many supermarkets in Hong Kong have yusheng and sushi sales points, and they have successfully attracted many customers to buy them over the years. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Mr. Xiao, who runs the import and export business of Japanese oysters, said in an interview with Yahoo News that most of the Japanese oysters and fish, no matter which prefecture they are produced in, are first shipped to Tokyo Toyosu Wholesale Market and Narita, and then shipped to Japan. When it comes to Hong Kong, “it is very rare to ship it directly from a certain place of origin”, so if the transshipment is not restricted, “it is really a lot”. However, Mr. Xiao also pointed out that since Miyagi Prefecture is the main area for oyster production in Japan, he also has a lot of products from Miyagi Prefecture. He believes that if the ten prefectures are embargoed, he will still be greatly affected. It is estimated that the business volume will drop by at least half. “People in Miyagi’s production area have a headache. The goods cannot be exported to Hong Kong, and they have no choice but to move.” As for the rate of increase in the price of oysters, he pointed out that he could not predict it for the time being.
Oysters are a favorite delicacy of Hong Kong people. Mr. Xiao, who manages Japanese oyster import and export business, said in an interview with Yahoo News that if the SAR government implements an embargo on aquatic products in Shidu County, he estimates that the business volume will drop by at least half. Not expected yet. (File photo, Getty Images)
Worried about the long-term impact on Japan’s seafood supply
At present, Mr. Xiao imports more than ten types of Japanese oysters from Japan to Hong Kong, most of which come from Miyagi Prefecture, but also from Hyogo Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Hokkaido, etc.; customers include restaurants, online stores, frozen meat stores, oyster specialty stores, etc. He emphasized, “People from the Japanese production area have their own inspections before shipment, and they have done a good job. They have radiation exposure certificates, and the farms inspect each batch.” Hong Kong has always been a large importer of Japanese aquatic products. I am worried that the embargo may affect the supply in the long run. Choose not to export to Hong Kong, but to other places.”
As for the Hong Kong government’s proposal to follow the mainland to ban the import of aquatic products from 10 counties, Xiao Sheng thinks it is questionable, and doubts that there is not enough scientific data to support it. Xiao continued, “12 years ago (the Fukushima nuclear accident) it was banned, but 12 years later, it will be banned first. What is the reason?”.
Inland counties have no aquatic products but are banned from the industry: hard to understand
Mr. Xiao said that he and many Japanese exporters were puzzled by the decision of the Hong Kong government. “The counties where the ban is a bit strange, some are inland and have no aquatic products. I don’t know how to lift the ban; if you talk about water flow, the water has to go to Tokyo first through Kanagawa”, emphasizing that Tokyo is not the place of production , “It’s just a wholesale point”, “What’s the matter? The industry here is hard to understand”, “Nagano Prefecture is inland, and it has nothing to do with water, so why is it banned?” Various production areas in Japan Even exporters have also paid close attention to the Hong Kong government’s policy, “The origin of the products can only be inspected more closely, to see if there is any impact.”
Mr. Xiao continued to point out that the future sampling inspection procedures for aquatic products also worried the industry. He pointed out that Shanghai, Shenzhen and other provinces and cities are sampling Japanese imported aquatic products batch by batch, and adding more testing items, which will take longer. This has a huge impact on the economy,” and pointed out that there is news that the domestic inspection of Japanese aquatic products will take 14 days. JPY”. In the past, it only took a few hours to sample aquatic products in Hong Kong. He was worried whether Hong Kong would follow the example of the mainland. , but if the measures last for several months, “the losses are really hard to estimate, and the impact will be even greater if it continues into autumn and winter. I am worried.”
The cities and counties that the Hong Kong government intends to ban aquatic products this time include Tokyo, but Mr. Xiao pointed out that Tokyo is not a place where aquatic products are produced, but a wholesale point. The picture shows Toyosu Market in Tokyo. (provided by respondents)
Environment Bureau: control measures refer to other economies
The Bureau of Environment and Ecology replied to “Yahoo News” that the plan to discharge nuclear wastewater is unprecedented, and there is no precedent to support its long-term reliability and safety. With a large amount of uncertainty still in the plan and it will last for 30 years, the SAR government must carefully deal with the risk of food safety in the early stage of the discharge. As for the “ten counties embargoed” between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the bureau explained: “The SAR government referred to the control measures of other economies when formulating relevant measures.” Relevant departments will observe for a period of time after the discharge begins. When more monitoring and scientific data become available, they will further examine the impact of the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge plan on food safety, and will review relevant measures from time to time.
The bureau continued that the country of origin information will be included in the label or manifest of the goods. If an embargo is implemented, the Center for Food Safety will check relevant documents such as bills of lading, packing lists, and product labels when importing food from Japan, and verify the information on the county of origin. Once the Japanese side launches the emission plan, the Center for Food Safety will update the radiation test results of food samples imported from Japan on its website every working day for public reference.
【Related reports】
Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge︱Hong Kong government: plans to ban the import of aquatic products from 10 counties including Tokyo and Fukushima
2023-07-19 09:04:15
#Japans #nuclear #waste #waterThe #Hong #Kong #government #intends #ban #counties #aquatic #products #oyster #importers
