With Great Fish Comes Great Wealth: The Role of Koi in the Japanese Ornamental Fish Market

Striving for success, courage and endurance? Just get a Koi fish! This carp species combines all of these qualities in Japanese culture, which is part of what makes it so desirable. Ornamental fish, especially Koi, with their vibrant colours and distinct patterns, have created a lucrative breeding and trading industry worldwide. The highest-quality Koi sell for several thousand dollars, making them a major part of the ornamental fish market. Japanese farmers of the Niigata prefecture noticed the vibrant colours and patterns on the Koi fish, which were initially bred for food [1]. Extensive cross-breeding led to the development of Nishikigoi, or ‘brocaded carp,’ now known as Koi [2]. This has driven the global establishment of Koi as an ornamental fish species [3]. Now they are not only a symbol of cultural beauty but also a product that can reach significant prices. The Kohaku variety, for example, can sell for several hundred US$ [4]. In the following I will examine how Koi fish contribute to the global and to the Japanese economy.

The global Koi market was valued at US$2.3 billion in 2023 [5], while the global market for ornamental fish was valued at US$6.36 billion in 2023 [6]. Therefore, the Koi market accounts for 36-39 % of the total market value within this sector. In 2014, the ornamental fish market was dominated by two species that are cheaper and are seen more as ornamental fish for beginners: the guppy (𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) and the neon tetra (𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪), which together accounted for only 14 % of the total value [7]. This shift in the market value confirms that Koi have become increasingly important over the past few years. * 
Prices for Koi depend on colour, pattern, and breed. For example, a ‘Super Mango Sakai’ female of 90 cm length was valued at €18.900 [8]. At the same time, a ‘Hi Utsuri Shinoda’ male of 51 cm was valued at €990 [19]. In auctions and markets, animals are usually sold within a price range of US$53 to US$560 [9]. In 2017, a Koi was sold for a record price of ¥200 million, approximately US$1.8 million [4]. These examples highlight the potential economic value of these ornamental fish. How is Koi trade contributing to the Japanese economy? Japan had a nominal GDP of about US$5.01 trillion in 2021 [10, 11]. The contribution of agriculture (including aquaculture) to Japan's GDP was approximately 0.95 % in 2021 (equivalent to US$47.6 billion) [16]. Sales revenue of the Asia-Pacific Koi industry has increased in recent years, reaching US$805 million in 2023. Japan contributed about 35 %, or US$281.75 million [12, 13]. The Koi industry in Japan therefore accounts for approximately 0.06 % of the agricultural sector, or 0.006% to the Japanese GDP. There are also indirect economic benefits such as Koi tourism, which provides the possibility to visit breeding facilities [14]. However, the financial impact may be small, since these tourist spots are mainly run by small companies and since the entire tourism market in Japan only contributes 1% to the GDP [15].

These calculations indicate that the Koi fish market has become a global industry of considerable size. Its significance is present both on a small scale such as in Japanese tourism, but also in the global market when compared to other popular species such as guppies. What once has been an important aspect of Japanese heritage has now become a global symbol of beauty and endurance, even transcending cultural and geographical boundaries.

Konrad Skowronek

* Editor's note: When translating the text into german, it was noticed that the data given here is not sufficient for the conclusion. However, the sources cited show strong growth in the koi market in recent years[5], as stated by the author.

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