Fresh Salmon Roe Sac Arrivals in Japan Down 70%… Prices Double
Procurement Limited to Orders Amid Inventory Concerns… Herring Roe Considered as a Substitute
Salmon roe prices in Japan have more than doubled from 2025. Known as the “jewels of the sea” for their glistening appearance, salmon roe is prized for its salty taste and popping texture. With salmon catches in Hokkaido plunging and poor catches continuing in major overseas supply regions such as North America and Russia, competition to secure imported salmon roe is also intensifying.
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“About 45 won per egg”… Salmon Roe Prices in Japan Double
According to The Nikkei on October 22, this month’s arrivals of fresh salmon roe sacs at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market were down 70% from the same period in 2025. Wholesale prices rose to 30,000-40,000 yen per kilogram, double the 2025 level. Fresh salmon roe sacs are egg sacs with the membrane still attached. Once the eggs are separated from the membrane and marinated in soy sauce or other seasonings, they become the salmon roe used in sushi and rice bowls.
Retail prices have also risen sharply. Fresh salmon roe sacs sold in Hokkaido now cost around 4,000-6,000 yen per 100 grams, more than twice as much as a year earlier.
The Nikkei bought 90 grams of freshly harvested salmon roe for about 5,000 yen at a seafood specialty shop and counted the eggs in a 50-gram portion. There were 606 eggs in total. That works out to about 4.8 yen, or approximately 45 won, per egg.
If a single gunkan sushi piece contains at least 60 eggs, the roe alone costs 288 yen at retail prices. At a popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in Hokkaido, two pieces of salmon roe sushi cost about 600 yen, roughly twice the price of sushi made with wild-caught tuna (about 300 yen).
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“Could It Disappear from Supermarket Sushi Platters?”… Herring Roe Considered as Prices Soar
Distributors are changing their procurement methods to reduce the burden of holding inventory. Seafood wholesaler Marusui Sapporo Chuo Suisan has decided to procure only the quantities ordered by high-end sushi restaurants and other customers. Executive Officer Tsuneyuki Moriwaki said, “It’s so expensive that even if we bring it in, there’s a significant risk it won’t sell and we’ll be left with unsold stock. Salmon roe gunkan sushi may disappear from supermarket sushi platters.”
Supermarket operator Ralse has also switched from securing fresh Hokkaido salmon roe sacs in advance to purchasing them only when orders come in. As of October 20, sales of the product had been almost nonexistent over the previous two weeks. Sales of flying fish roe are rising instead, and the company is also considering replacing the sushi ingredient with herring roe.
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Imported Salmon Roe Prices Also Soar… Expansion of Farmed Production Planned
It is also difficult to make up the shortfall with imports. Poor salmon catches in North America and Russia, combined with growing demand for sushi in Asia and Europe, have made imported salmon roe harder to obtain. Imported salmon roe with larger eggs costs around 18,000 yen per kilogram. Trout roe, which has relatively smaller eggs, is also priced at 15,000-16,000 yen per kilogram, two to three times the level a year earlier.
Industry insiders expect Japan’s salmon roe supply to reach only about 5,000 tons in 2026, even if the country secures as much imported product as possible. Supply is forecast to fall significantly from the 8,000-10,000 tons recorded annually over the past decade. Salmon catches in Hokkaido fell 70% in 2025 from the previous year, and this year they have reached only about half of the 2025 level.
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Roe producer Okamura Foods Co., Ltd. is pursuing a plan to increase supply through aquaculture. The company, which farms 4,000-5,000 tons of salmon annually in Northern Europe, plans to focus on raising salmon that produce more eggs. It will also increase the share of its farmed production supplied to Japan from the current 60% to 75% starting in 2027.
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