Scottish salmon exports will be allowed to enter the lucrative Chinese market thanks to a new agreement between the two countries.
The agreement is for AQISIQ, China's food-safety agency, to approve a range of Scottish products, including salmon, the Scottish government announced on Wednesday.
That's big news for Scotland's fish-farming industry, which is worth GBP 500 million to the economy and supports 6,000 jobs.
So far, mainly Norway has capitalized on China's exploding demand for Atlantic salmon, which increased 42 percent to 8,000 metric tons in 2009. Norway celebrated the export of its 10 millionth salmon to China at the end of 2010.
"It's great news," said Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. "It's something that was confirmed to me by Vice Premier Li in our talks on Sunday, and that is that the Chinese market is open to Scottish salmon. [Li] pointed out that even if 1 percent of the people of China decide to take the opportunity to eat Scottish salmon, then we'll have to double production in Scotland."
"China is a major potential market with a significant number of discerning customers who I believe will appreciate the premium quality of our Scottish salmon," added Jim Gallagher of Scottish Sea Farms Ltd. "This new exports opportunity is a welcome addition to the global markets in which we operate."
