November 8, 2019 — Ten percent of China’s seafood is spoiled during transit from producer to consumer, according to new research by a Chinese business consultancy.
Spoilage rates at 10 percent is higher than the equivalent rate for meat – eight percent – but lower than the figure for vegetables, at 20 percent, according to the research by Shenzhen-based Qian Zhan Industry Research Institute.
November 6, 2019 — Among the sea of Chinese companies exhibiting a huge variety of species and equipment at the China Seafood Expo in Qingdao, China, one thing was in greater abundance in 2019 than ever before: Displays showcasing products certified to a sustainability scheme.
Certifications – like that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification – have been catching on in the world’s most populous country, with multiple China-based companies now holding a certification of some kind. The number of products, too, showcasing certifications has increased rapidly.
November 4, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — From Ecuadorian shrimp to Russian king crab, getting a taste of the ocean has never been easier these days for many Chinese. But for exporters trying to tap into this fast-growing seafood market, they need more than just quality products.
At the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo (CFSE), which runs from Wednesday to Friday in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, exporters around the world are bringing out their best to woo increasingly sophisticated Chinese customers.
“Chinese consumers at home may not barbecue or bake fish in the style of Americans or Europeans. Instead, they may put it into hotpot or even in steamed dishes,” said Jeff Welbourn, senior director of new business development of China for Trident Seafoods, a U.S.-based seafood company.
“We should be sensitive to the way people eat fish here and make sure we develop the products that are exciting to Chinese consumers,” he said.
To meet the demand of health-conscious Chinese consumers, the company strives to ensure product quality from source to plate, using supply chain management to win over the rapidly growing and diverse Chinese market, according to Welbourn.
As China’s middle-class population grows, more people now crave a diversified menu on their dining tables, leading to an increasing demand for high-quality seafood.
The rapid development of e-commerce added to seafood’s popularity, with companies such as JD.com and Alibaba promising to deliver fresh seafood to the doorsteps of major city households within hours.
For global exporters, China’s growing appetite for seafood means opportunities. In the first eight months of this year, China’s seafood imports surged 24.8 percent year on year in U.S. dollar terms, official data showed.
“China is such a big market that there is room for everyone,” said Roberto Coronel Kronfle, of Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, an Ecuadorian shrimp company.
The firm is expected to see more than 70 percent of its total sales this year coming from China, Coronel said.
Santa Priscila’s booth at the CFSE neighbors several other Ecuadorian shrimp exporters, all of which were often surrounded by importers inquiring about quotations.
To win over the buyers, each firm has developed its own tactics. Jose Luis Salvador, a sales manager for Ecuadorian shrimp exporter Alimesa, said that the company’s competitive advantage lies in quality control as well as a commitment to deliver on time.
“Every client needs a certain date for shipment. That is very important now, so we have to be prepared and pack everything on time according to our selected partners’ needs. We need to comply with what was agreed,” he said.
For some companies, the key to success in China is about focusing on a niche market. Future Cuisine, a producer and exporter of premium New Zealand seafood, is targeting consumers that crave the best with its export of king salmon, a rare species of salmon.
“Now more and more Chinese travel to New Zealand and can get a taste of king salmon that they will never forget. People do taste the difference,” said Sophia Liu, general manager of the company’s China operations.
For others, the trick is about packaging. Vivian Zhang, general manager of KONO Pure NZ Trading (Shanghai), a subsidiary of Kono, a green shell mussels producer and exporter in New Zealand, said the firm designed a smaller packaging of mussels specifically for the Chinese market to cater to the demand of retail customers, who often like to buy online.
“Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It is an opportunity that we can not afford to miss out on,” she said.
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
October 31, 2019 — Since the start of the trade war between the United States and China over a year ago, certain sectors of the seafood industry have seen sharp drops of trade between the two countries.
The United States and China have taken turns ramping up tariffs on each other’s products, starting at 10 percent tariff rates and escalating to 25 percent duties on most products, including seafood, traded between the two countries.
October 29, 2019 — China’s exponentially increasing demand for salmon is likely to put a pinch on global supplies if the salmon-farming sector doesn’t find a way to increase production, according to Miguel Ugarte, the Asia sales director for Multiexport Foods Company, a leading supplier of Chilean salmon in China.
China has become the fastest-growing market for salmon in the world, with numbers indicating it has grown a whopping 166 percent in the last eight years, Urgarte said during the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual marketplace forum in Qingdao, China on Monday, 28 October.
October 28, 2019 — The United Nations has a straightforward solution to the illegal fishing that is decimating marine life and pushing some species toward extinction: close the world’s ports to vessels engaged in the US$23 billion black market.
Deprived of safe harbours to offload their illicit cargo, the economic incentive to plunder the seas would begin to evaporate. That’s the idea behind the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), which came into effect in June 2016 and requires participating nations to restrict entry of foreign fishing vessels to designated ports.
What is the Port State Measures Agreement?
A UN treaty requiring countries to close their ports to illegal fishing vessels, and to share real-time information to make that possible.
Before allowing them to dock, countries must verify where the ship is registered, conduct inspections and take other actions to ensure they are not transporting illegally caught fish. That information is to be shared in real time among port states, casting an electronic net over pirate ships.
But for this remedy to this tragedy of the aquatic commons to be effective, all coastal countries must join the PSMA and enforce its provisions. Otherwise, rogue vessels would likely still be able to find ports of call to get illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) seafood to market. To date, 61 nations plus the European Union have ratified the PSMA. That leaves 78 coastal nations not signed up, including the world’s fishing superpower – China.
October 9, 2019 — The theme coming out of Alaska seafood’s annual meeting is — no surprise — tariffs.
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute opened its All Hands On Deck meeting today in Anchorage with annual updates from its program directors, followed by public meetings for species committees and the Responsible Fisheries Management program.
International Program Director Hannah Lindoff opened her update with a slide detailing the current state of U.S./China tariffs.
“This is the most up to date information,” said Lindoff. “But if anyone is on Twitter and something changes, please let me know.”
Although most products in Alaska’s portfolio are exempted from U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports — salmon, pollock and Pacific cod — competition in the global marketplace makes tariffs disadvantageous for any fisheries affected by additional duties.
For example, Alaska contributes 10 to 15 percent of the global supply of red king crab. Russia supplies about 70 percent. Alaska’s red king crab quota is down 12 percent for 2020. Golden king crab and snow crab quotas are up 13 and 23 percent, but the tanner/opilio fishery is shut down for the year.
September 27, 2019 — A veteran of Cargill’s aquafeed trading wing, Petter M. Johannessen last year took over as director general of IFFO, which represents global fishmeal and fish oil producers and their trade associates. The London, United Kingdom-based organization will hold its 59th annual conference on 4 to 6 November, 2019, in Shanghai, China, at a time of rising Chinese demand for feed inputs, but also increased interest in alternatives to fishmeal and fish oil. Johannessen spoke to SeafoodSource about preparations for the Shanghai meeting, and more broadly, the state of the industry.
SeafoodSource: What are the priorities for the upcoming IFFO annual conference in Shanghai?
September 19, 2019 — As the United States trade war with China continues to take its toll on Massachusetts lobstermen, members of the state’s Congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are urging the Trump administration to find new markets for American lobster exports.
Sens. Warren and Ed Markey and Congressmen Joseph Kennedy III, William Keating, Stephen Lynch and Seth Moulton wrote a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday imploring him assist the local lobster industry.
The lawmakers said that China’s 25 percent tariffs on imported American lobsters has had a “material impact” on the state’s lobster industry, already forcing at least two businesses to close and leaving 250 people out of work.
September 18, 2019 — The trade war with China is putting the squeeze on the state’s lobster industry, and the damage is seeping into other sectors of the seafood economy, lawmakers were told Tuesday.
China has imposed 35% tariffs on U.S. lobsters — and many other food products — over the past year amid rising trade hostilities with the United States.
As a result, U.S. lobster exports to China have fallen off a cliff, dropping by 80% since its retaliatory tariffs went into effect.
The pain is being felt in Massachusetts, the nation’s second-largest market, where lobster sales to China plummeted 62% in the past year, according to state export officials.
“Canada is experiencing a boom in lobster sales as Chinese buyers find alternative markets,” Mark Sullivan, executive director of the state Office of International Trade and Investment, told members of Legislature’s Committee on Export Development on Tuesday. “Cargo planes are coming into Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to handle this bump in growth.”