Beijing, China-based Joyvio Group is reporting strong growth in its salmon sales and production for the first half of the year, despite logistical problems besetting seafood imports into China.
Joyvio – more formally known as Jia Wo Agricultural Development Co. – is a subsidiary of the technology-focused Legend Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed entity that diversified into food production in the past decade.
Joyvio purchased Santiago, Chile-based salmon farming firm Australis Seafoods in June 2019 for USD 922 million (EUR 820 million). It has said it intends to increase production at Australis from 60,000 to 100,000 tons of Atlantic salmon per year.
The company reported revenues of CNY 2.2 billion (USD 333 million, EUR 286 million) for the first half of 2021 – up 9.17 percent on the same period last year. The company’s salmon business contributed 69 percent – CNY 1.5 billion (USD 225 million, EUR 195 million) – of its revenues, up 19 percent year-on-year.
Australis has outperformed the Chilean salmon industry’s averages on both feed conversion and mortality rates, according to Joyvio. The company reported an average mortality rate of 6.1 percent compared to an industry average of 15.8 percent, and feed-to-price ratio was 1.25, compared to the industry average of 1.42.
But the company’s Chilean subsidiary has struggled in the pandemic due to control measures in China and other key markets. Though Australis helped Joyvio book a net profit of CNY 198 million (USD 29.7, EUR 25.7 million) in Q2 2021, Joyvio lost CNY 156 million (USD 23.4 million, EUR 20.2 million) in Q1 2021, blaming higher transportation costs and lower salmon prices for the downturn.
Joyvio hailed its Q2 results as a sign that Chinese retail and restaurant demand is recovering, though Australis also ships to the E.U. and U.S. markets and an economic recovery there may be behind the improvement in the company’s figures.
Australis produced 46,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon in the first half of 2021, up 23 percent, and its production of Pacific salmon reached 10,000 MT, up 55 percent over the same period last year.
Long-term, Joyvio is keeping bullish about salmon. It is seeking to raise USD 143 million (EUR 121 million) through a private placement on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to develop new products for the Chinese market, as well as to burnish its marketing and distribution efforts in China. In pursuing gains in China, Joyvio has touted the potential for salmon products tailored for children and the elderly
Photo courtesy of Joyvio Foods
