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It's not just the United States where surimi seafood consumption is stagnant -- surprisingly, the trend is the same in Japan, on of the strongest global markets for the minced-fish product.

After hitting a peak in 1975 at 1.04 million tons, surimi production dipped quickly, ultimately sinking to just 467,000 tons by 2013, said Kibun Foods' Toshimi Itou via an interpreter at the 2015 Surimi Industry Forum earlier this week in Astoria, Oregon. In fact, Japan increased imports of surimi by 20 percent last year due to sagging production rates.

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