Seafood Trade Advisory Group News Bites No images? Click here FEBRUARY 2020 STAG's bumper article collection on the Coronavirus issue Various Sources: January and February 202 To read ten, short articles from various sources such as BBC News and Under Current News about how the coronavirus is impacting many markets, click here Coronavirus: Life on the ground in ChinaSource: Lost Plate Team in Beijing, 3rd February 2020 To get an on-ground perspective of what life is like in China at the moment for it's citizens since the coronavirus made headline news, click here Coronavirus could cost China's economy $60 billion this quarter Source: Hong Kong (CNN Business), 31st January 2020 China may have to cut taxes, boost spending and slash interest rates to prevent the corona virus outbreak wreaking havoc on an already fragile economy. One state media outlet and some economists have said that China's growth rate could drop two percentage points this quarter because of the outbreak. A decline on that scale could mean $62 billion in lost growth. To read more click here Frozen seafood smuggling ring busted by China Customs Source: Kuaibao, 7th January 2020 On the 7th January 2020, China Customs cracked a frozen seafood smuggling case involving more than 200 million yuan (28.8 million U.S. dollars) where more than 20 tonnes of frozen seafood were seized. To read the full article, click here One of China's leading seafood import platforms set to grow even bigger Source: Newseed, 6th January 2020 Aiswl (www.aiswl.com) a specialised seafood import platform for China, has obtained new investment (worth of tens of millions RMB) from five major Chinese express delivery companies – S.F. Express, Shentong Express, YTO Express, and ZTO Express. Aiswl directly imports seafood from more than 40 countries in the world, covering over 100 seafood brands, with an annual transaction value of 2.1 billion RMB. To read the full article, click here Xuji Seafood - A new seafood supply chain approach in China Source: Sohu, 27th November 2019 Xuji Seafood owns 36 outlets throughout China and source their seafood directly from producers, including from Australia, North America and Western Europe. The Xuji Seafood logistics supply chain can see seafood transported from all origins of the world to the Chinese consumers’ table in eight hours. Xuji Seafood also have retail stores where consumers can choose live seafood from aquariums whilst having fun touring the store. To read the full article, click here Seafood e-commerce in China worth 27 billion RMB during the first half of 2019 Source: Zhujiage, 28th November 2019 A seafood e-commerce forum was held in China on 27 November 2019 with seafood companies, restaurants and e-commerce companies attending. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, there were 390 million seafood e-commerce transactions in the first half of 2019, worth 17 billion RMB, up by 22.9% from the previous period To read the full article, click here WeChat Pay and China Union Pay join forces Source: Kuaibao, 9th January 2020 On the 3rd January 2020, Tencent signed an agreement with China Union Pay – the China banking card industry association, to share QR codes between WeChat Pay and China UnionPay App. The agreement provides for mutual recognition and mutual scan of their QR codes. To read the full article, click here ¥26 trillion stimulus package to prop up slowing Japanese economy Source: Japan Times, 6th December 2019 Japanese Cabinet has approved an economic stimulus package totalling ¥26 trillion (US$239 billion), to support a slowing domestic economy in the face of flagging global growth and a potential impact from the recent tax hike. The first stimulus package in three years centres on measures to spark consumer spending, by promoting cashless payments as well as spending on public works to bolster infrastructure in the wake of the recent string of natural disasters, the government said. To read more, click here 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 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. Copyright © 2020, Seafood Trade Advisory Group. All rights reserved. |