Data published by the Korea Customs Service on Monday revealed that South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood dropped for the fifth consecutive month in August, declining by 34.8 percent compared to the same month in the previous year.
The volume of imports also decreased, amounting to 1,622 tons, a 24.9 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2019.
The figures for August were the lowest in two years, and the largest year-on-year decline this year.
The decreasing imports can be attributed to the concerns surrounding Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean on August 24.
In the first eight months of 2020, South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood decreased by 2.5 percent in value and 11.3 percent in volume compared to the same period in 2019.
On the other hand, the value of Japanese beer imports to South Korea increased by 393.3 percent and the volume by 323.7 percent in August compared to the same month the previous year.
In the first eight months of this year, the value of Japanese beer imports rocketed 253.2 percent on-year to $30.2 million, with the volume shooting up 238.4 percent to 36,565 tons.