Brown crab from the U.K. and Ireland has once again become eligible for export into China, but a leading seafood trader in China has warned that both supply and demand remain constrained.
For years, the Chinese government has placed restrictions on brown crab imports due to concerns about cadmium – a contaminant found in crabs. Those restrictions have been met with consternation from Irish and U.K. exporters.
In June 2023, the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) updated its regulatory standard for cadmium levels in brown crab, with the previous maximal limit of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of cadmium concentration amended to 3.0 mg/kg.
“The previous per-consignment cadmium testing regime was replaced from 1 November 2023 by a routine export certification model supported by a cadmium-specific background monitoring program under which Irish food business operators will export crab to China," Ireland’s Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) told SeafoodSource in a statement. "This aligns with current routine controls and is supported by sampling results provided by the Marine Institute.”
The SFPA said brown crab exports to China have picked up as a result.
“Since switching to our amended export health certification model, the trade is solid, and we are keeping it under review,” it said.
In China, however, consumer demand is “really soft” according to Jack Yuan, CEO of WhatFresh, a Chinese seafood importer with offices in Hong Kong and mainland China, which has previously imported Irish crab.
Yuan told SeafoodSource that “less money in the pocket” for Chinese consumers means “spending is down” but that the primary issue is lack of supply.
“I have yet received any shipment of live brown crabs this year,” he said.
Irish brown crab featured prominently in a CNY 3 billion (USD 420 million, EUR 390 million) marketing campaign launched in January by Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo to grab market share during the Chinese New Year festival. Among the seafood items which the company was promoting in advertising leading up to the festival were Argentine cold-water shrimp, Norwegian “Arctic” cod, and Irish brown crab.
But, according to Yuan, a Pinduoduo listing does not reflect increased orders.
“If you scroll down the live seafood list, brown crab volume is very small,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Mick Harper/Shutterstock
