Baiyang Investment Group, one of China’s top tilapia exporters, has pivoted toward the domestic market.
The company signaled its future lies with the domestic market with the launch of a range of fish products aimed at the home dining and restaurant sector in China.
The range includes packaged porgy and tilapia slices to tap into a growing middle-class affection for hot-pot meals prepared at home. Long beloved by Chinese urbanites as a fun form of communal dining, the traditional hot-pot night out became an in-home favorite during the country’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Baiyang recently reported revenues of CNY 1.13 billion (USD 172.5 million, EUR 149.5 million) for the first half of 2021, up four percent on the same period last year. However, its profits collapsed by 296 percent to a loss of CNY 15.5 million (USD 2.32 million, EUR 2.01 million). Like other Chinese exporters, Baiyang has seen the cost of exporting increase with a massive surge in freight charges brought about by the pandemic.
State-owned conglomerate Qingdao Guoxin Development (Group) Co. purchased a majority share of Baiyang in February 2020, giving the company access to credit as it seeks to fund its shift in operations and extension of its distribution networks. Earlier this year, Qingdao Guoxin Development subsidiary Qingdao Conson Financial Holdings launched a fund with Baiyang to seek investments in the seafood space in order to meet growing Chinese consumer demand.
Photo courtesy of Baiyang Investment Group
