Higher value marine-bred fish species are boosting sales of aquafeed in China, according to the representative body for the feed industry in China’s key feed and aquaculture producing region.
The Feed Association of Guangdong province has reported that sea-based production of golden pomfret and Chinese sea bass consumed 200,000 and 160,000 metric tons (MT) of feed last year.
While the consumption figure for seabass is down from 200,000 MT in 2015, the figure represents a significant jump on the 130,000 MT sold in 2013. Sales of feed to producers of golden pomfret – a favorite medium-priced fish of both restaurant diners and home consumers in China – soared to 200,000 MT, up from 150,000 MT in 2015 and 120,000 MT in 2013. China’s government has been keen to encourage mariculture, in part as a response to overfished territorial waters.
It’s been a different story for the more export-focused tilapia segment, with sales to that segment up to 1.1 million MT –up from one million MT in 2015 but down from 1.35 million MT in 2013. However, another freshwater species, grass carp, continues to be the biggest consumer segment for feed: 1.9 million MT in 2016, compared to 1.8 million tons the previous year. Sales of lower-priced species like carp have risen in the past two years in part due to cyclically high pig prices. Feed sales to shrimp producers stayed flat in 2016 and 2015 at 800,000 MT each year, according to the Feed Association of Guangdong.
Members of the association include Guangdong Haid, which recorded revenues of CNY 2.7 billion (USD 392.3 million, EUR 366.5 million) last year, up 6.3 percent. Its profits, at CNY 877 million (USD 127.1 million, EUR 119.8 million), were up 12.4 percent.
