Business Introduction | Mitsui & Co. Seafoods Ltd.

Our Business

Shrimp
Business

High-quality Shrimp from the World’s Oceans

We are engaged in the shrimp business at all levels, from the procurement of farmed and natural shrimp from overseas suppliers to the management of processing in factories. Mitsui & Co. Seafoods and its affiliates handle all stages from the point of import up to sale in domestic and overseas markets. Our mission is to supply delicious products to the whole world while maintaining an extensive product lineup and building relationships of trust with our customers and producers. We have also created structures that enable us to monitor market trends constantly through our global networks and respond flexibly and quickly to today’s changing and increasingly diverse needs.

Our current priorities for the processing business are product development and the launch of production lines for our customers’ brands. Through our raw material business, we offer a wide range of products to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our main product in this area is Herb Shrimp, which we were involved in starting with the development of the feed. Our highly competitive processed products are made using ingredients sourced from multiple countries through the network of Minh Phu, a Mitsui & Co. investee in Vietnam. We are actively committed to the development of sustainable products that help to reduce environmental impacts and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.

One of our future goals is to create stable supply structures by establishing shrimp farming operations in multiple countries and collaborating with local processing operations, and to sell shrimp in emerging markets, using Mitsui & Co. Group’s network. Our most important priority is to ensure the satisfaction of consumers around the world by supplying the very best products. We will use our market-based knowledge and networks and pursue global strategies focused on the achievement of results that surpass customer expectations. We aim to build trust and expand our record of achievement by offering optimal solutions to our customers. We will continue to enhance our competitiveness in global markets and pursue sustainable growth.

Our Business

Salmon
Business

Delivering World-Class Salmon

Mitsui & Co. Seafoods originated as the Seafoods Department of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. In 2005, Mitsui & Co.’s salmon and trout business was transferred to Toho Bussan, which was our company name at the time. For many years, we have used Mitsui & Co. Group’s global resources to engage in business with companies in many countries. We import ingredients from North and South America, Scandinavia, and the Middle East and manufacture frozen foods with our processing partners in Vietnam, Thailand, China, and other countries.

We also strive to create unique products, and in particular we have earned a reputation as the pioneer of Chilean smoked salmon through our collaboration with the Chilean company Multi-X since 1998. This product, which we developed to suit Japanese tastes, is today highly regarded by customers in a wide range of industries, including restaurant chains, convenience stores, and hotel chains.

In addition, we are working actively to develop certified marine products. We have obtained the Chain of Custody (CoC) certifications by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certifications by the Global Seafood Alliance. Our ability to supply safe, dependable products is built on close collaboration with our in-house quality assurance/quality control units. We consistently prioritize quality in line with our commitment to supplying the very best products to our customers.

Our robust partnerships with Mitsui & Co. Group help us to supply the best quality salmon products to our customers around the world. The services that we provide to meet the needs of our customers are backed by our prioritization of quality, safety, and the environment, together with our commitment to sustainable management. We will build trust with our customers by sharing stories about various projects that reflect our vision and values for the salmon business.

Our Business

Fish Roe
Business

Global Fish Roe Business
—Tradition and Innovation

In 2004, a new era in the history of Mitsui & Co. Group’s marine products business began with the merger of Mitsui & Co. Group company Hokkai Seafoods Co., Ltd. with Toho Bussan. The fish roe business continued to play a central role in the business after the founding of the current Mitsui & Co. Seafoods.

The story of our salted sujiko (salmon roe) business in North America goes back to 1964, when Mitsui & Co. dispatched experts to Canada and Alaska to manufacture the product locally. Through the six decades of history following that initiative, we have built a solid presence in the North American market.

Our business in Scandinavia originated with the start of production of salted sujiko from trout in 1977. We are currently collaborating with the Danish company Aquapri to expand the business further. Activities such as these have helped to enhance the competitiveness of Mitsui & Co. Seafoods in various markets.

Mitsui & Co. Seafoods has a long history as a supplier of salted fish roe, primarily through our bases in Tohoku and Hokkaido, and we have built a position of the top runner in this highly competitive market. Autumn salmon is harvested in September and October each year at Monbetsu in Hokkaido for use in the production of seasoned ikura and salted roe.

We dispatch highly skilled salted roe specialists to each production site to create these hand-made delicacies using traditional methods. We built our market position as a trusted brand by continually updating our product specifications to match changing consumer preferences, and by prioritizing the enhancement of quality assurance and quality control.

In recent years, the market has seen the Japanese food boom and growth in demand for ikura. As a respected brand with a long history in the market, Mitsui & Co. Seafoods continues to supply products differentiated by freshness and quality. We are determined to achieve further growth and success by fulfilling our responsibility to protect food culture and traditions, while adapting to global fluctuations in market prices.

Our Business

Tuna
Business

A Pioneer of Mediterranean Aquaculture

During Japan’s postwar reconstruction era, the Japanese fishing industry expanded its fishing grounds from coastal to offshore and then pelagic areas. Catches expanded dramatically between the 1950s and 1970s. Pelagic tuna was used for both canned products and sashimi. Mitsui & Co. helped to build the value chain by exporting canned tuna.

However, Japan’s pelagic fishing industry faced a new challenge when major countries began to establish 200-mile exclusive economic zones in 1977. Catches began to decline due to overfishing and shrinkage of the fishing workforce, coupled with high crude oil prices. By the 1980s, an increasing number of Japanese fishing vessels were sold to overseas buyers, and Mitsui & Co. switched to purchasing raw materials in overseas markets. In the 1990s, South Korea and Taiwan began to increase their catches using secondhand fishing vessels. This resulted in an oversupply of red meat from yellowfin and bigeye tuna.

Mitsui & Co. decided to pursue rarity value by switching to fatty species, such as bluefin and southern bluefin tuna. As it began to develop fishing grounds for natural products all around the world, Mitsui & Co. became aware of the potential for fish farming in the Mediterranean, which is a major spawning ground for bluefin tuna. Purse seine boats are used to capture the tuna after spawning, and the fish are then kept in pens for a certain period before harvesting. In 1996, Mitsui & Co. established a joint venture with a Spanish partner, and in 1997 we became the first in the industry to sell fresh bluefin tuna to a major retailer. While helping to popularize Mediterranean-farmed bluefin tuna in Japan, we laid the foundations for the tuna farming business by providing production guidance and quality assurance/quality control support in key production areas, including Spain, Italy, and Malta.

In 2008, the tuna business was transferred from Mitsui & Co. to then Toho Bussan. We continued to leverage relationships built up with producers over many years to supply farmed bluefin tuna in Japan. After the establishment of Mitsui & Co. Seafoods in 2022, we expanded the business to handle Moroccan farmed bluefin tuna. In recent years, we have started to target overseas markets as well as Japan, and we now airfreight Spanish farmed bluefin tuna to China, which has grown into the world’s biggest seafood market.

Today we continue the tradition established by the pioneers of Mitsui & Co. Group’s seafood business. Our tuna business has evolved from handling of canned tuna to the supply of red meat and fatty products in step with changing market needs. We will continue to fulfill our responsibilities as the inheritors of this tradition by engaging in purchase negotiations each year, visiting production areas during the season, and inspecting products on-board vessels. In this way, we will collaborate with producers and customers to maintain reliable supplies of high-quality tuna to Japanese consumers.

Our Business

Export
Business

Bringing Japanese Delicacies to the World
—Our Expanding Export Business

We launched our export business in 2010 in response to the growing popularity of Japanese food. However, the business hit a major hurdle in 2011, when public perceptions of Japanese-made food turned negative in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. In the years that followed, we gradually rebuilt the export business by thoroughly checking products for radioactive contamination and repeatedly informing overseas customers about the safety of our products.

We have fully leveraged the networks of Mitsui & Co. Group to expand sales of Japanese foods to Japanese restaurants and supermarkets in other countries. We also exhibit products at overseas trade fairs and engage in negotiations with customers with the assistance of Mitsui & Co.’s overseas offices. By doing so we are developing a deep understanding of local needs, trends, and preferences. We are also involved in the OEM business.

A major advantage for Mitsui & Co. Seafoods is our highly skilled sales team. Motivated by their keen interest in food, they carefully select the best products from throughout Japan and provide customers with in-depth marketing support, including advice about sales methods and the dishes that can be made from each product. The trust that we build with our customers through these activities is reflected in the expansion of our business.

Demand for Japanese food continues to expand because of the growth of inbound tourism in Japan, and also because of a growing preference for healthy foods. We are prioritizing human resource development as part of our efforts to meet this demand. We have multilingual employees capable of working in the global marketplace, as well as in-house trade specialists with the ability to respond quickly to every situation.

Our main focus at present is exporting to Asia. However, our employees are also working hard to develop new sales channels to Oceania, Europe, and North America. We are determined to bring delicious Japanese foods to the world.

Our Business

Research and Development,
Quality Assurance, Quality Control

Building Food Business Structures
with a Focus on Customer Satisfaction

Quality Assurance/Quality Control at Overseas Production Sites

Our Research and Development, Quality Assurance, Quality Control Center was established when we were still operating as Toho Bussan. Its mission was to ensure a stable, safe, and trustworthy supply of food, at a time when it was not always possible to create optimal quality assurance/quality control systems. Since then, we have continually modified and improved our systems and assigned employees with specialist knowledge to follow-up processes. This has led to the development of highly effective structures, including the limitation of overseas operations exclusively to plants that meet HACCP-based hygiene standards. Today we operate systems that ensure a stable, safe, and trustworthy supply of sustainable food products. Good communication among all concerned is essential when manufacturing products to meet Japanese quality standards in plants located in countries with different regulations, practices, languages, and cultures. However, our employees have earned the trust of local people and built cooperative relationships by frequently visiting each plant.

Enhancing Contemporary Diets and Protecting the Future of Food

Our goal is to improve customer satisfaction. Our efforts to develop raw materials and products are driven by our commitment to meeting diverse consumer needs. We have established an analysis and development unit in our head office to carry out research and table testing with the aim of providing added value to our customers. Traditionally, our development activities were weighted primarily toward ingredients for ready-to-cook products. However, we are now also prioritizing the development of ready-to-eat products. We have developed a number of ready-to-eat products based mainly on marine and agricultural ingredients in cooperation with our customers. Our specialized employees are also working with increasing success to develop new sauces.

We carefully manage our CoC certification as part of our commitment to sustainability. By continuously reviewing our operations, we are helping to promote the trading of products covered by MSC and ASC certification.

We are determined to combine a stable, safe, and trustworthy supply of sustainable food products with delicious flavors and sustainability. We will continue to take up this challenge as part of our ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction.

We pack care and commitment into every delicious bite.

Shrimp Business

Salmon Business

Fish Roe Business

Tuna Business

Export Business

Research and Development, Quality Assurance, Quality Control

Shrimp
Business

Salmon
Business

Fish Roe
Business

Tuna
Business

Export
Business

Research and Development,
Quality Assurance,
Quality Control