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While Alaska seafood exports to Japan declined 12.3 percent from 2005, Japan continues to be the state's single largest seafood market, with purchases of $725 million in 2006. Other seafood exports statistics show an 8.4 percent increase to Korea, totaling $356 million; a 33.7 percent increase to China to $323 million; and a 24.1 percent increase to Germany to $202 million.
High world market prices helped boost Alaska mineral ore exports to a record $1.1 billion in 2006, while fertilizer exports, third on Alaska's export list, stood at $163 million, down 40 percent from 2005. That decrease is linked to diminishing known reserves of Cook Inlet natural gas — the feedstock used to produce the fertilizer — and increased demand in Alaska for residential and commercial use. Fertilizer is exported from Alaska to Korea, Mexico, Chile and Columbia.
The value of Alaska's 2006 exports of precious metals, primarily gold, also increased, up 30.1 percent to $110 million. Alaska's gold exports go mostly to Switzerland.
Alaska is home to Red Dog, the world's largest zinc mine. Ore shipments from the mine in remote Northwest Alaska went all over the world.
Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, saw the growth in mineral exports as a harbinger of the future. “We have only had improving metal prices in the last couple of years, and there's going to be more to come,” he said.
The value of Alaska's 2006 exports of forest products was $111 million, down 15.8 percent. The majority of Alaska's forest products are exported to Korea, Japan and China.
The value of Alaska's 2006 energy exports decreased 21.4 percent to $263 million. Alaska's liquefied natural gas exports to Japan rose in value to $160 million; refined petroleum product exports declined to $93 million; and coal exports declined to $10 million.
The source of the state's numbers is the U.S. Census Bureau. As in past years, the export numbers do not reflect Alaska's resources transported to other U.S. states, warehoused and then exported.
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute officials said 2006 Alaska seafood exports weighed in at 855,225 metric tons, up 12,798 metric tons from 2005. ASMI, which does broader research than the state on seafood export markets, put the value of 2006 seafood exports from Alaska at nearly $2.5 billion, up by approximately $2 million from 2005.
ASMI also incorporates other distribution districts, including Seattle, into its figures. The state tracks direct exports from Alaska. ASMI tracks all Alaska seafood export products from the United States.
“Seafood commodity prices were generally high in 2006, and this would certainly be a contributing factor to growth in the value of Alaska seafood exports,” said Chris McDowell, a fisheries economist with the McDowell Group.
“One thing to consider is that the value of Alaska seafood exports cannot increase indefinitely because the Alaska harvest is limited by ocean productivity and the constraints of sustainable management,” said McDowell, who is a consultant for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
“With Alaska salmon production already at record levels (the 2005 harvest was the largest ever) and allowable catch of pollock, cod and other whitefish declining from historically high levels, it is clear that further growth in the value of Alaska seafood exports will have to come from increased unit value, rather than increased production volume,” he said. “In that respect, Alaska is well served by continued efforts to identify and target markets which show potential for growth in unit value, not just import volume.”
McDowell also noted that while Japan is widely acknowledged as the top export market for Alaska seafood, domestic consumption of Alaska seafood is nearly double that of Japan's.
“Reprocessing activity in low-cost labor markets like China and Korea will probably remain a substantial piece of the Alaska seafood business in the near future, consistent with global food industry trends,” McDowell said. “In fact, we can probably attribute at least some of the recent decline in Japan's imports of Alaska seafood to processing activity in other Asian countries and subsequent re-export to Japan.”
Margaret Bauman can be reached at
margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.
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