Dalian, China-based seafood importer and processor Asia Fishing Port is projecting a CNY 4 trillion (USD 600 billion, EUR 520 billion) market for processed and "pre-made" seafood meals in the post-pandemic Chinese food and beverage trade.
Asia Fishing Port Vice Chair Jiang De Zhi told a panel at the annual China Seafood Buyers Conference, held online in October, that post-pandemic demand for “standardized” seafood will expand rapidly. He also predicted a large expansion in restaurant chains demanding such products.
Jiang’s company supplies IKEA and Pizza Hut and is in the process of completing an initial public offering.
Research consultancy Ibis has put the value of China’s fast-food market at USD 162.2 billion (EUR 136 billion) in 2021, up three percent year-on-year. But the market hasn’t grown at the pace of general economic growth, as annual growth averaged 2.4 percent between 2016 and 2021, well behind the pace of growth in GDP and retail sales. This is in part due to factors like the relative immaturity of franchising as a business model in China, where the restaurant scene remains highly fragmented and real estate remains a favored destination for investors.
Also present at the Seafood Buyers Conference was Shen Qiang, head of the research and development department at Dingdong Maicai, an online retailer seeking to grow its seafood sales. Ding Dong has focused on developing products to suit evolving tastes in China, including for seafood, drawing on its trove of data on consumer habits.
Photo courtesy of Asia Fishing Port
