3.) Value upgrade
Tilapia farm gate prices in China remain largely stagnant since 2012. It’s a similar story for carp. But prices and demand are soaring for species like crayfish and freshwater crabs, as well as perch, croaker, and mandarin fish.
This reflects a shift in China’s key freshwater aquaculture zones towards higher-value species, and this trend will accelerate in 2018. Already in the past year, we’ve seen farmers of mandarin fish report theft from their ponds, while a college in Wuhan, at the heart of the crayfish sector, launched a program to train and certify students in crayfish production and processing.
In the years to come, this trend will put pressure on prices and availability of export-oriented species like shrimp and tilapia, though this will take some time to play out, as much of the production is clustered in southern China near key ports.
