Prices of imported minced fish products — ingredients for fishcakes used in popular oden hot pot dishes in Japan — have been soaring due to increased demand in Europe, the United States and China, as well as rising logistics and personnel costs, according to Finance Ministry trade data.
The import price of minced Alaska pollock, a mainstay ingredient for fishcakes, has been on the rise since around the spring of 2017 and stood at ¥401 ($3.8) per kilogram in June this year, marking a 30 percent increase from two years ago.
Japan, which is believed to be the world's largest consumer of fishcakes, or fish meat paste, imports many minced products known as surimi and processes them domestically.