Seafood companies doing business in China are looking to 8 February as a potential date for China to lift the travel and trade restrictions it has put in place as a result of the rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus.
That date seems to be the one that food distribution and processing companies are planning to return to normal operations, according to sources in China contacted by SeafoodSource.
The city of Wuhai has been locked down by the Chinese government, and additionally, roads have been blocked across the country, according to sources in Beijing, Tianjin, and Fuzhou – meaning fish farms aren’t able to get their produce to market.
“If this continues beyond 10 more days, there will be serious food security issues,” an importer of Western foodstuffs in the Fengtai district of Beijing said.
A number of airlines have canceled flights into and out of China, with many setting 8 February as the final confirmed date for flight cancellations. Fishery authorities in the southerly port of Zhuhai have barred fishing trawlers from sailing until 8 February.
Foot traffic at Beijing’s key seafood market has fallen dramatically this week, but supermarkets remain open. Regional authorities in Henan Province, meanwhile, have issued an indefinite ban on the trade of live poultry. And McDonald’s, Starbucks, and other food and beverage chains have shut down hundreds restaurants across China until further notice, according to The Guardian.
And there is mounting concern among the operators of seafood-related businesses across the wider region in Asia that they will be impacted by the virus’ impact on Chinese outbound tourism. Seafood restaurants in key destination like Malaysia and Thailand are reporting a mass of cancelations from Chinese tourists.
“Outbound tourism from mainland China into Asia has multiplied by 6.7 times since 2003, which does not bode well for the impact of the coronavirus on growth, especially for Hong Kong and Macau, and to a lesser extent Singapore and Taiwan,” Alicia García-Herrero, an economist at the Hong Kong office of French investment bank Natixis, said.
García-Herrero said Thailand and Japan will in particular be at risk of losing sales. Both countries received close to 10 million Chinese tourists in 2019. Likewise, “global hotel giants are now more exposed to Asia, meaning any downfall in revenue could hurt deeper.”
SeafoodSource reported on January 2 that authorities in Wuhan were investigating the source of a flu-like virus at the Huanan seafood market. Anger has grown in China after recent revelations in local media that medical staff in Wuhan identified the virus as early as 28 December but attempted to minimize its potency and danger. The magnitude of the health crisis was only made public on 22 January.
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