SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [BANR JAPAN REPORTS] Hokkaido - Jan 14, 2010 - End-year crab sales in the Sapporo market proceeded smoothly helped by good supply-demand balance; king crab was sold favorably due to affordable prices, while horsehair crab saw supply shortage. In the crab sales battle in the Sapporo market in Hokkaido late last December, cargo movements were good both for the mainstay king crab and horsehair crab. Market sources believe that the strong showing was primarily due to the prices that stayed lower than a year earlier as well as the consumers' desire to have some luxury during the New Year holiday. 'We have seen a good supply-demand balance for the first time in recent years,' noted a wholesaler. Regarding king crab, the wholesale prices of Alaskan-produced 3L and 3L sizes as well as good quality Russian products (frozen) were about 10% lower than the previous year at around Y 2,700-2,500 per kilo, with some going even further down. These reasonable price levels apparently helped the sales of king crab for gift pack products and for sale by mass retailers to run smoothly. This year there had been concerns about decreasing supply of Russian king crab to Japan because of tightened fishing control in Russia, but some in the market pointed out that 'the products initially destined to Korea were delivered to Japan because of the weakening value of the Korean currency.'  'There was no conspicuous shortage for frozen products,' says a dealer. For Alaskan crab, sales went on undisturbed, starting with large 3 kg products so the processors' inventory at hands was almost wiped out by the end of the year. With respect to section products, some marketers said that they first had a hard time in determining prices, but sales later proceeded at a smooth pace as demand was developed both for business use and household consumption. According to the Sapporo fish market office, trading volume of frozen king crab during December 2009 grew 10% over the same month of the previous year to 512 tons, while the average unit prices turned down 18% to Y2,242 per kilo,. As for horsehair crab, on the other hand, dealers had difficulty in procurement because supply became short later in the year. The shortage was primarily blamed on the record low level TAC of 1,100 tons for the Okhotsk Sea horsehair crab. Furthermore, processors ran out of their stockpile as they slashed production and reduced inventory on reflection of slumping sales late in 2007. Supply from sources other than Hokkaido also decreased. For this reason, crab from the Pacific side of Japan supplemented the shortage of the mainstay Okhotsk Sea crab during the year-end sales season. Small-size products (4 kg, with 11 crab or less) mainly for delivery to mass retailers sold out quickly, while 7-10 crab size subsequently became the central products for the holiday season. The wholesale prices of horsehair had stood at Y2,000-1,800 per kilo by November but edged up later to climb to Y2,500-2,400 by the end of the year. However, users bought the products actively even at this price level as the prices still stayed Y300 lower as compared to the previous year. A horsehair crab dealer observed that 'the scope of demand seems to be expanding including household consumption as well as gift pack products in the Honshu mainland of Japan.' However, the end prices in year-end sales catalogs are often set during summer, and some dealers had stiff time to cover the demand as purchase prices gradually turned upward toward December while their sales prices had already been fixed. Regarding snow crab, sales were reportedly favorable. A seller analyzed the good performance as follows: 'the prices of snow crab during the year end season were at a low level on the whole compared with previous years. Still crab presented itself as a high-price products amid the current economic quagmire. But some consumers apparently felt they would like to enjoy luxurious products at least during the holiday, which expanded increased buy orders.' As the year 2010 opened, stockpiles of both king crab and horsehair crab are generally kept at a low level. But a market participant observed there may remain some amount of inventory in the retail stage, suggesting the need for discrete price setting. 'During the year end season in 2009, crab cargoes moved briskly helped by reasonable price levels. In order to maintain the expanded demand in the days ahead, it is crucial to distribute crab at appropriate price levels,' he said.