China went from being the world’s largest exporter of seafood to a net importer in one year. The conclusion of Rabobank senior analyst Goryan Nikolik was published on March 20 by The Fish site.
In 2022, China increased its seafood imports by 30%, Nikolik said. This was the result of the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions. the main increase in imports came from shrimp, most of which come from Ecuador (564,597 tons) and India (136,838 tons).
Nikolik noted a large increase in purchases of pangasius fillets from Vietnam. In the first half of 2022, imports grew 109% in quantitative terms and 147% in monetary terms.
“This is quite surprising because China is a major producer and exporter of freshwater whitefish and the world’s largest exporter of tilapia. At the same time, he imported a lot of pangasius. This may be a reflection of the growing demand for ready-to-cook seafood among young people who do not want to prepare traditional seafood dishes.”reflect. In 2022, China bought more pangasius than the United States and Europe combined, the expert added.
According to Nikolik, the aging and increasing prosperity of the population are driving people away from fish farming and fishing towards other industries. “There is a trend towards higher value products. There is a shift from fish production to things like batteries or electric cars, high-value goods with high export potential. It seems they are moving away from being self-sufficient in seafood and no longer intend to be a large net exporter.”he explains.
This is a trend for a long time. China may well follow the European and American models. The trade deficit for seafood in the EU is $28 billion (2.15 trillion rubles), and in the US – $25 billion (1.95 trillion rubles). Fish farming rarely brings a big profit, the expert believes.
China still produces 1.5 million tons of tilapia a year. Ten years ago, 90% of this volume would have been exported, and now only 20%. They import white fish from Vietnam, so now they are net importers. Self-sufficiency remains state policy to some extent, but China appears to be no longer a net exporter of seafood, Nikolik said.
“In 2017, China’s net seafood exports amounted to $11 billion (850 billion rubles), and now it is negative. Other countries have occupied the market this share in five years. If the trend continues and China releases $11 billion (850 billion rubles) of imports over the next five years, then the rest of the world, likely traditional exporters like Chile, Norway, Vietnam and Ecuador, will have a chance to meet this demands.”predicts.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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