Photo/Illutration Chefs sample oysters from Hiroshima Prefecture during a prefectural officials’ visit to France in September 2022. (Provided by Hiroshima Prefecture)

HIROSHIMA--As Japan’s largest oyster producer, Hiroshima Prefecture is aiming to expand its sales networks overseas as it will export homegrown oysters to Europe for the first time.

After an export center was set up at Hiroshima Airport in March, the prefectural government set the goal of raising its oyster sales abroad from 1.01 billion yen ($7.6 million) for fiscal 2021 to 1.26 billion yen in fiscal 2025.

“We would like to cash in on this opportunity to make the greatness of our oysters known across the globe in the run-up to the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima,” said Kazunari Kawaguchi, head of the prefecture’s Commerce, Industry and Labor Bureau.

Officials from businesses in France were reportedly delighted with the quality of oysters from Hiroshima Prefecture during a food fair in Paris in mid-February. They admired the oysters for their creamy taste and flesh that does not shrink when heated.

The 850 oysters brought to the site were all sold.

Exports of Japanese-made oysters and their processed counterparts were previously limited to China, Singapore and other Asian countries, along with the United States, according to the prefecture’s accounts.

The local government sought a way to tap into Europe’s market this time by sending oysters caught exclusively in certain waters to them.

Bacteria can rarely be spotted in oysters from clean water in Mitsu Bay off Higashi-Hiroshima, so the international HACCP standard for sanitation control was successfully fulfilled, as demanded by European authorities.

Japan’s Fisheries Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in January gave permission for frozen oysters in shells to be exported.

The prefectural government is looking to deliver its 300,000 frozen oysters to France, Britain, Germany and elsewhere in Europe from this season to the next.

The event in Paris marked the first step toward it.

Oysters are enjoyed in France primarily over glasses of wine, with smaller ones said to be more often consumed. Oysters grown in the Seto Inland Sea, which is rich in nutrients, are larger and marked by a fragrant aroma.

“There was a long line of people waiting for oysters, and we simply ran out of them,” said a prefectural representative who took part in the fair. “We have growing confidence that demand for them exists.”

Ikuzo Kawasaki, chair of seafood processing firm Kunihiro Inc. in Onomichi in the prefecture and who is involved in the oysters’ exports to Europe, expressed high hopes.

“We will be expanding our export channels first and foremost so oysters from Hiroshima will be accepted more broadly throughout the world,” he said.

An oyster delivery center equipped with a tank and other shipping facilities was completed within the container terminal of Hiroshima Airport on March 13. Fresh oysters will reportedly be flown directly to Taiwan and then to other Asian states in one day.

Hiroshima Prefecture included oysters on its list of priority exports. It is planning to work with suppliers with an eye on expanding its clientele base through negotiations with other nations.

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