DHL GF expands Japanese presence to Hokkaido to aid seafood exports

To celebrate its 50th anniversary in Japan, DHL Global Forwarding has seafood rather than cake on its mind, as the forwarder opens a wholly owned office in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido and the fifth-largest city in the country.

According to Charles Kaufmann, president and representative director of DHL Global Forwarding Japan K.K., the company felt it was the right time to add to its existing operations in Tokyo, Okinawa and Fukuoka. “Hokkaido is among the top producers of seafood exports in Japan, particularly prized for scallops,” he said. “Scallops not only ranked first amongst seafood exports from Japan at a value of almost ¥50 billion (€400 million), they also make up the largest portion of seafood that we export, and we don’t see the demand abating. There are many leading producers here with an interest to bring their premium delicacies overseas, and a reliable logistics partner is key to their market expansion plans.”

DHL Global Forwarding’s new presence in Sapporo will provide customs support to local businesses exporting to China. The company has year-round operations at Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport (CTS) and offers airfreight capacity through partnerships with key carriers.

“With our half-century presence in Japan, DHL Global Forwarding has an established global and intra-Asia network to facilitate and adapt to changing consumer patterns,” said Kelvin Leung, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Asia-Pacific. “The growth of the middle class in Asia, and the increasing domestic consumption in many of these markets give us an opportunity to support the local seafood industry and help them expand to global markets with a hunger for premium Japanese seafood.”

DHL transported close to 1,000 tonnes of seafood from Japan to the rest of Asia in the first three months of the year alone, with the majority of the shipments heading to Hong Kong and China. Domestic consumption, meanwhile, has fallen by more than 20% over the past 10 years.