The rise of convenience retailing and restaurant chains is providing new markets for Chinese seafood processors.
Fuzhou Baiyang Hai Wei Foodstuffs has almost doubled production in the past year to meet orders from two leading fast food chains, Xia Bu Xia Bu and Dong Lai Shun, which have expanded through most of China’s major cities., according to company CEO Teng Zhong Xi.
The firm has grown its production to the extent that the firm had to travel hundreds of miles to one of China’s poorest regions to recruit workers, Teng said.
Baiyang, which supplies WalMart with processed frozen filets, fish balls and snacks, has also had to recruit workers from China’s hinterlands. A partnership set up by authorities in coastal Fuzhou and Gansu, two poor inland provinces, has allowed the recruitment of workers for coastal seafood processors.
