[THE INVESTOR] Retailers are seeking new suppliers of locally popular fish after the Korea-Japan fishing agreement Japan fell through last week, industry officials said July 4.

The failed talks mean the two countries cannot fish in each other’s exclusive economic zones, affecting the supply of belt fish and mackerel, the two most popular types of fish among South Korean consumers, they said.

Supermarket chain E-mart, which has been importing mackerel from Norway and Scotland, said it will look for other suppliers, such as China, the United States and Canada, if the agreement with Japan is not renegotiated. For belt fish, the retailer is considering Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates as possible new sources.

Most chains can stock up with catches from the Yellow Sea and the southern island of Jejudo up to the end of the year for mackerels and until October for belt fish. But officials say they will have to find other sources if the fishing pact with Japan is not concluded before then.

Homeplus, another retail chain, said it has sent buyers to Busan and Jejudo, South Korea’s key fishing areas, to check available stocks. Homeplus officials said they have approximately five months of frozen fish stored but will have to look for other suppliers afterward.

Lotte Mart said it will increase imports from existing suppliers.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)