June 17, 2020 — Salmon farmers have been hit by restrictions in China, where a new outbreak of the coronavirus was blamed on imported fish.
The red-fleshed fish is now being boycotted in China after new infections were traced back to the chopping board of a seller of imported salmon at a market in the capital. Orders have been canceled and “it’s difficult to ship fish to Beijing” in the near term, said Anders Snellingen, manager for global operations at the Seafood Council for Norway, the world’s biggest producer.
China still represents a small share of global salmon demand, making up less than 5% last year, but it’s also one of the fastest growing markets and fish farmers were already feeling the squeeze of pandemic restrictions.
“We had to rebook our shipments to China and direct it toward other markets,” Grieg Seafood ASA spokeswoman Kristina Furnes said by phone. While there is now closer scrutiny of salmon, the same applies to other food imports as well, she said. Grieg doesn’t export large volumes to China and hasn’t had any cases of Covid-19 in its organization.