Chinese seafood prices are undervalued and will rise, according to an aquaculture entrepreneur going for a higher value niche in the market.
The popular China Central television (CCTV) business magazine show “Zhi Fu Jing” recently focused on how extra expense in branding, safety, and quality requires prices to be raised significantly. In this realm, “ecological” aquaculture management requires that consumers pay more, according to Guangdong Xian Quan Hu Seafood Chain Co. Founder and CEO Zhu Ji Rong.
Consumers are willing to pay a premium after a period of “trust building,” explained Zhu, who claims customers appreciate the “sweeter taste” of his fish produced with organic principles – though his firm hasn’t secured official organic certification.
The company, which also uses the brand name Spring Fish, charges CNY 49 (USD 6.95, EUR 6.28) per 500 grams of freshwater bass, compared to a CNY 19 (USD 2.69, EUR 2.43) average, according to Zhu Ji Rong. The company also sells carp at CNY 36 (USD 5.11, EUR 4.61) per 500 grams, even as some prices are as low as CNY 10 (USD 1.42, EUR 1.28) per 500 grams, said Zhu.
Xian Quan Hu has gotten CNY 20 million (USD 2.84 million, EUR 2.56 million) from Guangdong-based private equity firm Jun Zi Capital. The investment is based on future growth in demand for premium seafood, according to Chen Zhi Peng, partner at Jun Zi Capital, who also spoke on the CCTV program.
Producing bass, carp, grouper, and tilapia, Xian Quan Hu is based in the Zhuhai region of Guangdong, China’s most prosperous region, and also its manufacturing and technology heartland. The location also puts the company on the doorstep of Hong Kong and Macao, high income consumption markets.
The company, whose production was hampered by a 2017 typhoon, was set up by industrialist Zhu Ji Rong, who has also developed a dairy farm.
Photo courtesy of JoeyCheung/Shutterstock
