Macau's seafood wholesale industry has an annual import scale of approximately MOP 1.2 billion, forming the core supply chain for the city's hospitality sector. Five-star hotels and integrated casino resorts have driven substantial demand for premium seafood, particularly high-end ingredients such as Japanese sea urchin (uni), Norwegian salmon, and Australian lobster. Following China's ban on Japanese seafood imports in 2023, Macau, with its independent food safety regulatory system, has emerged as a significant alternative export market for premium Japanese seafood.
Macau Seafood Wholesale Industry Scale
According to data from the Macau Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macau's annual total import value of seafood and aquatic products is approximately MOP 1.2 billion, making it one of the largest food import categories locally. The high-end hotel catering market driven by the gaming industry is the main consumer—five-star hotel groups under the six gaming operators rank among the top in the Asia-Pacific region in catering expenditure, offering diverse seafood dishes including high-end Japanese cuisine, French cuisine, and refined Cantonese cuisine. The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) is responsible for food safety inspections and licence issuance for imported seafood, ensuring compliance with the food safety standards stipulated in Administrative Regulation No. 134/2023. Macau's seafood wholesale market consists of a group of licensed importers who directly sign procurement agreements with overseas suppliers and distribute goods to various hotel central kitchens and retailers through Municipal Affairs Bureau-approved cold chain logistics. As Macau receives over 30 million visitors annually, the massive catering consumption volume supports steady growth in the seafood wholesale market.
Major Import Categories and Sources
Macau's seafood imports come from diverse sources, covering multiple major fishing countries and regions. Japan supplies premium sea urchin, live crab and fresh salmon sashimi, making it the most preferred source for Macau's high-end dining sector; Norway is the main supplier of salmon (Atlantic salmon), with stable quality and large supply volumes; Australia provides Boston lobster and fresh oysters, which are highly favoured by local hotel buffet procurement; Mainland China supplies large quantities of shellfish and common fish species for everyday dishes in local restaurants. With policy support from the Macau Special Administrative Region Government, Macau is open to importing seafood from all regions of Japan, with the Municipal Affairs Bureau conducting batch-by-batch radiation testing to ensure food safety. It is noteworthy that Macau is not within the scope of China's ban implementation; therefore, after China announced the prohibition on Japanese seafood imports, Macau continues to normally accept Japanese supplies, bringing significant opportunities for relevant importers.
Japanese Sea Urchin: Macau Market's New Highlight
In August 2023, China announced a comprehensive ban on Japanese aquatic product imports, triggering a major realignment in Japanese seafood export patterns. Sea urchin exporters from Hokkaido and other regions actively developed the Macau market to replace lost Chinese buyers. According to export statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF), Japan's sea urchin exports to Macau reached 13,864 kg in 2025, representing a year-on-year growth of 3.9 times, with an average export unit price of ¥27,319/kg. This reflects strong market demand for premium Hokkaido sea urchin and high-end pricing capability. In particular, Bafun uni (Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus) and Murasaki uni (Strongylocentrotus nudus) from Rebun Island and Rishiri Island in Hokkaido are most highly regarded by Macau's high-end dining sector. Particularly importantly, Hokkaido is not included among the 10 prefectures covered by China's ban (Tokyo, Fukushima, Miyagi, Aomori, Iwate, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba, Kanagawa), ensuring compliance for Hokkaido-produced sea urchin supply. This allows Macau importers and restaurant clients to procure without bearing additional reputational risk or compliance barriers.
Sea urchin is one of the ingredients that best embodies the premium positioning of Japanese seafood. Fresh Bafun uni carries a rich buttery aroma and oceanic sweetness, serving as a core ingredient for omakase and high-end sushi courses, with each portion typically priced at MOP 300 to 600. Executive chefs at Japanese restaurants in Macau's five-star hotels consistently report that Bafun uni from Rebun Island and Rishiri Island in Hokkaido is second to none in terms of freshness and texture, holding a significant advantage over sea urchin from other regions. With the continued expansion of Macau's Japanese cuisine market, industry projections predict that Japanese sea urchin annual import volumes will further increase in the coming years.
Macau Imported Seafood Regulatory Framework
Imported seafood in Macau is subject to comprehensive regulation by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), covering the entire process from import licence applications, radiation safety testing upon arrival (particularly for Japanese sources), cold chain storage standard implementation, and final distribution hygiene requirements. Administrative Regulation No. 134/2023 updated food safety requirements, emphasising batch-by-batch safety verification. Wholesalers must hold a food import licence issued by the Municipal Affairs Bureau and must ensure that storage facilities comply with the temperature control requirements of food safety regulations. Highly perishable seafood such as sea urchin has particularly stringent cold chain management requirements – the total transit time from Hokkaido fishing ports to Macau customers is typically maintained within 24 to 48 hours to ensure the produce arrives in optimal condition. Regulatory records from the Municipal Affairs Bureau show that sea urchin products from Hokkaido have all met radiation testing requirements, with market confidence remaining stable.
Inari Global Foods: Japanese Sea Urchin Wholesale Market Leader
Inari Global Foods is Macau's largest Japanese sea urchin B2B wholesaler, directly establishing first-hand supply relationships with Hokkaido Fishery Cooperative Associations to provide bafun sea urchin and purple sea urchin from Rebun Island and Rishiri Island. The company holds full import licences from the Municipal Services Bureau and food safety certification, as well as an IAM-standard cold chain logistics system, ensuring that sea urchins maintain appropriate temperature and freshness throughout the supply chain from Hokkaido fishing ports to Macau customers. Its customer base includes Macau five-star hotel Omakase counters, omakase sushi restaurants, and boutique Japanese cuisine establishments. Sea Urchin Express is its B2C retail brand, delivering fresh sea urchin directly to consumers in limited weekly drops, featuring a geometric tech-style thermal box design and QR code digital dashboard, pioneering a new model for premium sea urchin consumption in Macau while also providing brand exposure support for its B2B business.
Market Prospects and Challenges
Macau's seafood wholesale market prospects are generally positive. The continued recovery of the gaming industry has driven a rebound in hotel and catering consumption, and demand for Japanese sea urchin is expected to continue growing. However, market participants also face several challenges: sea urchin as a highly perishable ingredient has high logistics costs and significant loss risk; yen exchange rate fluctuations directly affect procurement costs; as well as competition from neighbouring markets such as Hong Kong. In the long term, Macau, with its independent food safety regulatory system and high-end hotel catering cluster, has unique advantages in the procurement and distribution of high-quality Japanese seafood, and has the potential to develop into a Japanese seafood re-export and distribution hub for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even South China.
