STAG News Bites
The latest seafood news from China and other key global markets for Australian Exporters.
14th July, 2022
In this edition: 🤝 China-Australia ties; 🦠 Covid update; 🏈 US inflation affects sales; 🦀 New WA crab
Some of these articles are in foreign languages and can be automatically translated on Google Chrome.
Note: These articles are a round-up of news media in key seafood markets. The information is provided as part of our market intelligence service to Australian seafood exporters. The views expressed in the media articles are not those of the STAG and are in no way endorsed by us.
Image: ABC news
🤝 Chinese and Australian foreign ministers meet
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bali last Friday. This is the second ministerial-level meeting between Australia and China since the election. Read more on the ABC website here.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry media release, ‘the Chinese side is willing to take the pulse, recalibrate and set sail for the bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect, and strive to bring the bilateral relationship back on track.’ Read the full statement here (Chinese)
Seafoodsource.com reports on the potential impact of a China relations reset for the Australian seafood sector, quoting a local industry expert: ‘If the trade relationship with China is improved and lobster is allowed to be imported by Chinese organizations again, obviously the demand slack is up taken and prices will go up again domestically.’ Read the full article here.
Image: Channel News Asia
🦠 Regional Covid-19 update
China: Channel News Asia reports ‘China's health authority said on Tuesday (Jul 12) that local governments no longer need to test some imported goods for the coronavirus’.
However, the exemption only applies to ambient temperature goods, not chilled or frozen products: ‘Chilled and frozen foods will continue to be tested…but exporters will not face import suspensions when their goods test positive at customs checks.’ Read the story here.
Hong Kong: The city’s new health minister has said that quarantine-free arrivals (with conditions attached) could be allowed by November. More from the South China Morning Post here
Japan: A new wave of infections has appeared in Japan, as infection rates reach four-month highs. However, the government maintains there is no present need to introduce restrictions on people's movements. Read more on the NHK website here.
Korea: A two-month high in infection numbers has led to government warnings of another surge. But authorities have ‘no immediate plans to bring back restrictions but does not rule them out if there is a "critical change" in the COVID-19 situation’ Read more on the Channel News Asia website here.
Image: IntraFish
🏈 USA: Inflation affecting seafood sales
According to Seafoodsource.com, ‘High inflation continues to impact fresh seafood sales in U.S. grocery stores, but sales of canned and pouched seafood are rising as shoppers cut costs.’ Read more here.
Image: NetEase
🐚 Fujian province abalone harvest season begins
Fujian’s Lianjiang county is a major Chinese abalone production area. Harvest is just getting underway and according to regulators, ‘the amount of local abalone seedlings this spring exceeded 2 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 5 percent’. Learn more here (Chinese).
📻 Podcast: The Catch
Foreign Policy has produced a six-part podcast examining the seafood industry, offering ‘a behind-the-scenes look at the current state of global fishing’. The series looks mostly at challenges of governance, regulation, and sustainability. Learn more here.
🦀 New crab species found off WA coast
But the most important question goes unanswered: how does it taste? Read more about the discovery here.
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The Seafood Trade Advisory Group (STAG) is jointly funded by the Australian government and the fishing industry. We receive funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).which is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
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