Chapter 2 Media Article

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20071119_Bluefin_tuna_supply_for_sashimi_runs_low.html

"Bluefin tuna supply for sashimi runs low", Nov. 19, 2007

This article refers to the depleting supply of Bluefin tuna. Bluefin tuna, the largest tuna, has been over fished for the past few decades. The low supply of tuna caused the price of it to increase which decreased its demand. In the past year, wholesale tuna prices increased by 20%. In Japan, imports decreased 24 percent compared to last year for the first quarter of this year. However, in the American market for fresh tuna, their imports have been on the rise which will decrease the demand for Bluefin tuna. The Japanese are now going to try to get their Bluefin tuna supply back up.

Relationship to Ch. 2 – supply and demand

This article relates to chapter 2 because the supply of Bluefin tuna is depleting which relates to supply, demand. The supply of it has decreased due to over fishing which has caused its price to increase. The increase in price led to a decrease in quantity demanded. Also, the United States market for tuna has been increasing their imports. The American tuna and the Japanese tuna can be seen as substitute products in the international market. As the price of the Bluefin tuna increased, the demand for American tuna has also increased. The article also relates to scarcity in the previous chapter because Bluefin tuna is a scarce land resource that is becoming even more scarce.

I now understand more about how markets operate. I believe the American fresh tuna market, second largest in the world, will soon catch up to the Japanese fresh tuna market. Since the price of the Bluefin tuna went up, the demand for less expensive American tuna also went up. At the moment, Japan is decreasing in imports whereas the United States is increasing in imports. I hypothesize that the United States will go from having the second largest fresh tuna market to first within a few years since the Japanese will not be able to catch up with their low supply of Bluefin tuna.