Major Chinese e-commerce platform Yiguo.com inked a memorandum of understanding with the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) on 15 September in Shanghai, initiating a new collaboration between the online marketplace and the GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program.
According to the agreement, Yiguo.com plans to incorporate BAP firmly into its sourcing policy and to feature products that originate from BAP-certified facilities. In addition, Yiguo will give preference to BAP products, increase the quantity of BAP products on Yiguo.com over time, and market BAP seafood to Yiguo’s broad customer base. The two entities will also work in tandem to educate both seafood suppliers and customers about responsible and sustainable aquaculture via the BAP program and the appropriate use of its blue BAP logo.
International BAP-certified facilities and businesses are being encouraged by GAA to utilize Yiguo.com as a viable avenue to enter into the Chinese market.
“Yiguo.com is one of the largest fresh food e-commerce platforms,” said Steve Hart, vice president of GAA, who signed the MoU on behalf of his organization.
“It is a leader in the fresh food e-commerce revolution that has started in China,” Hart said. “Since 2002, our BAP certification has been working toward improving aquaculture production and supply chains. Through our four pillars of protecting the environment, society, animal welfare, and food safety, BAP has become a leading internationally recognized standard. I believe that through this cooperation, BAP aquaculture products will withstand tests from the market and consumers and will be popular items on Yiguo.com.”
Yiyi Yang, vice president of Yiguo.com, was also on hand to sign the MoU committing the e-commerce engine to responsible aquaculture practices.
“As a leader in fresh food e-commerce, we focus on maintaining high standards for the products we purchase. The BAP certification program satisfies our outlook for aquaculture products, for environment and for social responsibility. This MoU signifies the beginning of a partnership. We are looking forward to achieving a win-win with GAA in the future and we will together move forward for our common goal: to provide healthy, safe, sustainable and responsible seafood to Chinese consumers,” Yang said.
The ceremony was attended by several regional seafood farming and technological staple figures such as He Cui, president of CAPPMA (China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance); Dekun Li, CTO of Intertek China; and Chunyan Li, e-commerce director of Guolian Aquatic Products Co. The partnership between GAA and Yiguo was met with praise from Cui, who noted the potential impact on China’s sustainability sector.
“The cooperation between Yiguo.com and GAA promotes the concept of sustainability in China and will provide our consumers with more safe, high quality and responsible aquaculture products from all over the world,” Cui said.
