STAG NEWS BITES is produced for Australian Seafood Exporters, containing important updates and informal translations of news from Asian media sources. Any information provided as part of this trade news service is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and business objectives.

S T A G N E W S B I T E S

C H I N A N E W S

Below are three China-related articles or articles translated from Chinese media that focus on consumption trends in relation to seafood imports and exports.

Note: If foreign articles are opened in Chrome, they can be automatically translated

Informal Australia-China seafood trade: appetite trumps politics

The South China Morning Post has published a detailed investigation (English, paywall) into the Australian rock lobster grey trade with mainland China via Hong Kong. The report has details of logistics, recent customs enforcement actions, and the enduring consumer demand for rock lobster.

The topic continues to be discussed in the China blogosphere, albeit in a more moderate tone, noting the ease with which lobsters can be bought via e-commerce channels.

‘On Baidu's online wholesale platform, there are multiple vendors selling Australian lobster. In the JD online shopping mall, a live Australian lobster costs 1,500 yuan (approximately US$232), and if the buyer is in Guangdong, the order can be delivered the same day.’

China’s seafood trade outlook: a new dawn in 2021?

Following a disastrous 2020 - for obvious reasons - Chinese seafood traders are expecting revived demand for both exports and imports. According to this report, some additional factors influencing seafood import demand will include the recently-commenced ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River (which will reduce domestic supply), development of the cold-chain, and improving consumer acceptance of chilled and frozen products. Read more here (in Chinese).

Seafoodsource.com notes import volumes have recovered somewhat, but prices remain soft in China. Seafoodnews.com reports (paywall) that salmon is returning to the China market in a big way.

While the outlook for imports might be improving, food safety has always been a top-tier issue for Chinese consumers and regulators. As part of China’s 2021 National Food Safety Promotion Week, the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) has been focused on the safety of imported and exported food, food safety at ports, cracking down on risky activities (including smuggling), and improving general food safety knowledge.

COVID-19 has naturally been at the centre of GACC’s food safety efforts at the border. In the first half of this year,the Food Safety Bureau (part of GACC) has assessed more than one million samples of imported food, while 296 food-exporting companies from 60 countries have been spot-checked via remote video, and 144 food-exporting companies that have experienced a cluster of employee infections have suspended their exports to China.

Shenzhen seafood vendor’s trickery exposed

STAG News Bites has been pleased to bring you tips from Chinese consumers on how to avoid seafood market rip-offs - see this story from May with creative ideas on preventing lobster substitution by sneaky chefs.

More recently, a man in southern China has dramatically exposed a shady market seller’s scam, as reported here. The lesson? Always pack a pair of scissors at the Shenzhen seafood market!

O T H E R M A R K E T N E W S

Japan Fisheries White Paper

Seafoodsource.com reports on the release of the Japan Fisheries Agency 2021 White Paper. The paper notes ‘per-capita consumption of seafood in Japan is now below that of Norway and South Korea, while consumption levels in Indonesia and China are nearing that of Japan.’

To compensate for COVID restrictions on international travel, the Japan International Seafood & Technology Expo is offering not only “face-to-face / regular way of exhibition", but also "Agent Exhibit Service: NINJA" where interpreters and assistants will promote your sales materials, collect visitors’ business cards and assist with online enquiries. This is a ‘virtual exhibitor’ service allowing exporters to participate without being present at the expo themselves. Find out more: https://www.seafood-show.com/japan/en.php

Image: Pexels

Is the future of farming in the ocean?

The Freakonomics podcast has posted a fascinating and detailed interview with Bren Smith, author of Eat Like a Fish.

Smith was a hard-scrabble commercial fisherman in Canada and Alaska before turning to offshore aquaculture in a bid to ensure a sustainable future for the seafood industry. Moving away from salmon farming, which Smith sees as ‘Iowa pig farming at sea’, he has embraced an unlikely, but versatile and sustainable, product: sea kelp.

A text transcript of the podcast is also available on the website.

Image: Unsplash

USA Market Research

Alaska Seafood has published US consumer research demonstrating strong and growing demand for seafood, especially wild-caught products. See this interesting research summary for more.

Image: Pexels

Push to ban US imports of sea cucumbers

According to seafoodsource.com, a US-based conservation group wants to list black teatfish sea cucumbers as an endangered or threatened species. This would lead to a ban on imports to and sales of this species in the USA. Seafoodsource notes that US imports of black teatfish sea cucumbers by weight have increased by 36 times over the past decade.

Image: Seafood Source

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STAG News Bites is a resource for Australian seafood exporters, currently funded by the Abalone Council Australia Ltd, Southern Rocklobster Ltd, Australian Abalone Growers Association, Western Rocklobster Council and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. We acknowledge past funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, through the Package Assisting Small Exporters.

This STAG publication contains informal translation of foreign and Asian media. Any information provided as part of this trade news service is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and business objectives.