More proof that China’s distant-water fishery firms remain reliant on subsidies for profitability came as CNFC Overseas Fishery Co. and Pingtan Marine Enterprise reported their third-quarter results.
CNFC, one of China’s leading tuna firms, reported a 40 percent decrease in revenue for the first three quarters of this year, to CNY 265.7 million (USD 39.8 million, EUR 34.5 million). The company reported a loss of CNY 55.8 million (USD 8.4 million, EUR 7.2 million) for the period – a 548.9 percent slump on its figures for the same period in 2019, the company noted in a statement to investors. The company blamed weaker consumer demand for tuna and other products it catches for the decline, but also claimed that its subsidies were down CNY 15.3 million (USD 2.3 million, EUR 2 million).
Nonetheless, CNFC announced earlier this year that it had gotten a subsidy package worth CNY 71.2 million (USD 10.6 million, EUR 9.3 million) from its parent company, China Agricultural Development Co.
Pingtan Marine, a privately-owned Chinese squid-focused distant-water fishing firm, which also boasts strong government backing, had a better year thus far. It booked revenue of USD 15.4 million (EUR 13 million) and net income of USD 800,000 (EUR 675,000) for the first three quarters of 2020.
Pingtan, which is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, credited the 10 large squid-jiggers it set to sea in the period for the results.
“We were really pleased with our performance for the quarter, with our revenue increasing by 38.2 percent and our sales volumes increasing by 69.3 percent, compared to the same period of the prior year,” Pingtan Chairman and CEO Xinrong Zhuo said in a press release.
The company has discounted prices on products exported from its processing plants in China to overseas buyers and has extended payments terms in order to hold onto clients, the company said in its results statement.
Pingtan said it remains bullish about 2021 because it will have expanded its consumer-facing network in China, with a new government-subsidized seafood center being built in the company’s home province of Fujian.
Photo courtesy of Pingtan Marine
