STAG News Bites
The latest seafood news from China and other key global markets for Australian Exporters.
19 May 2023
STAG News Bites: 🤝China trade relations; 🦐China imports NZ live lobsters; 🐚Abalone spotlight; and much more
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.
🤝 China: Trade relations
China has lifted restrictions on imports of Australian timber products, which had been subject to biosecurity-related measures. Read the Australian Forestry Products Association media release welcoming the news here. Read the ABC News report here.
Trade Minister Farrell visited Beijing last week to co-host the 16th Joint Ministerial Economic Commission (JMEC) dialogue between Australia and China. The JMEC was last held in 2017.
Read the official press release here.
Minister Farrell invited his Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, to visit Australia. The South China Morning Post also reports that China’s Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, will visit Australia in July. Read more here.
China Economic Net reported on the visit here (Chinese).
🦐 China: New Zealand live lobster imports
CCTV news has featured a story regarding Shanghai Pudong Airport customs facilitation of live New Zealand lobster (and other fresh seafood) imports. Watch the video here (Chinese). A related article can be read on China News.com here (Chinese).
According to the article: “Pudong International Airport Customs has tailored a customs clearance service system for fresh and live agricultural products, and implemented measures such as "7*24-hour customs clearance" and "365-day customs clearance" to ensure that fresh and live goods are inspected immediately upon arrival, and are checked and released in time. The customs is also actively promoting the digitisation of animal and plant quarantine certificates and inspection and quarantine certificates, and continues to improve the level of trade facilitation.”
Source: China News Network
🎪 China: Nanning, Qingdao market conditions
Here are two regional seafood market reports, focusing on supply and price conditions during the annual fishing moratorium. Read the report for Nanning here (Chinese). Read the report for Qingdao here (Chinese).
🏈 USA: Consumption update
The Food Institute has published an analysis of US seafood consumption trends, revealing that “salmon has become the ‘ground beef’ of the seafood department”. The success of salmon is reportedly driven by good consumer education campaigns around the health benefits, development of new pre-prepared product lines, and an alignment with the air fryer cooking trend. Read the report here.
SeafoodSource.com reports on seafood consumption impacts of inflation: “Overall US retail seafood inflation dropped in the first quarter of 2023, which benefitted all sectors of the industry but frozen sales”. Read more here.
🐚 Abalone spotlight: China, USA, Australia
This article tells the story of Lianjiang County in Fuzhou: “China's Number One Abalone County", which sells abalone products all over the world, with Japan as the major overseas market. Read about it here (Chinese).
Meanwhile, in California, there are plans to resurrect the abalone production facility at Cayucos: “The facility is considered the largest land-based marine aquaculture facility in North America”. Read more here.
According to Chinese language blogger ‘Unlimited Deliciousness’, the best abalone grow near 40° south latitude and 44° north: “Australia, located at this latitude, has these unique geographical environments that give birth to Australia's delicious and juicy wild abalone.” Read this take on the Australian wild-capture abalone industry here (Chinese).
🦀 Japan: Russian crab imports upset Canada
Canada’s CBC News reports that Japan has increased imports of cheap, Russian-sourced snow crabs - a move that Canada claims is hurting its industry and undermining G7 sanctions on Russia. Japan disagrees. Read more here.
According to the South China Morning Post, “Tokyo is carving out several trade exemptions for its companies, while the United States and Europe continue to implement new sanctions on the regime in Moscow.” Read more from the South China Morning Post here (paywall).
💹 Korea: Seafood export push
South Korean authorities have announced a plan to grow seafood exports to US$4.5 billion by 2027. Abalone exports are identified as a key driver of growth, according to this article from Yonhap News.
💰 Hong Kong: Million dollar lobsters
A photo of a Hong Kong seafood restaurant bill has gone viral, showing the cost for two Australian lobsters at nearly HK$1 million (A$192,000). Of course, the bill was a mistake. Read more here (Chinese).
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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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