Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Famous Japanese seafood from Hokkaido on exhibition in some hypermarkets in Shanghai is receiving a cold reaction here, as the high prices and the local lack of cooking skills have drawn customers away from these exotic specialties, today's Shanghai Morning Post reported.
During the eight-day exhibition, which began last Tuesday, only a little over 3,000 yuan (US$363) worth of seafood was sold, according to an organizer.
The Hokkaido fish were testing the local market at five hypermarket stores such as Huijin, Lotus, Carrefour, Darunfa and Sam's.
According to the stores, high prices top the list of complaints.  For example, the crabs sell from 300 yuan each while a 200-gram package of salmon roe is priced at over 800 yuan.
Fishery industry insiders are blaming the high shipping costs and import tariffs for the high prices.
"These additional costs have further pushed up the already-high prices of the up-market seafood," added Fan Shouling, secretary-general of the Shanghai Fish Industry Association.  He noted that about 10 percent of the seafood in Shanghai is imported.
A lack of cooking skills is another key reason for the lack of interest, pointed out hypermarket officials.
People just don't know how to cook these exotic fish and shellfish, they said.