Alaska’s pollock fishing industry is increasingly looking at opportunities in China’s domestic consumer market, particularly the restaurant trade.
The “functional aspects” of pollock make it desirable to producers of surimi products for China’s growing hot pot market, according to Craig Morris, CEO of the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP). China’s growing quick-service restaurant trade has proven a strong market for imported pangasius, as well as locally produced tilapia.
But Craig sees a particular advantage for pollock over its alternatives due to the functional benefits of the fish, which are “pretty well understood by the trade but are of a very scientific nature,” Morris told SeafoodSource.
“Essentially, wild Alaska pollock-sourced surimi maintains a very high gel strength, and that gel strength is of benefit when a surimi product, let's say a fish ball, is dropped in boiling liquid like a hot pot application,” Morris said. “Higher gel strength helps keep the fish ball intact, and not dissolving into the hot pot broth during this application. While in China, we were told this was especially true in some of the more sophisticated surimi applications they are bringing to market such as those that are co-extruded, and a thin layer of surimi encases another ingredient such as fish eggs.”
Despite those advantages, China’s tariffs on imports (for domestic consumption as opposed to re-exported processed product) remain an issue.
“The tariffs are still in place, so we are closely monitoring the situation to determine our future marketing and research plans,” Morris said. “We certainly see great opportunity in China, but we will have to get past the near-term tariff situation before we can fully capitalize on it. However, there are signs for optimism and we are closely working with our sister trade associations such as the At-Sea Processors Association and Pacific Seafood Processors Association to monitor progress on the trade front between the U.S. and China and advocate for better access terms.”
With those tariffs, pollock is at a disadvantage to other species. Pangasius enters China tariff-free under the free trade deal between China and the ASEAN trade bloc. Plus, as of now there’s been no marketing campaign to match that of the Norwegian Seafood Council, which has been pushing “Arctic cod” in China.
“Although we have a number of research projects we are interested in pursuing, GAPP doesn't have any active marketing campaigns or consumer research programs ongoing in China at this moment,” Morris said.
Pollock-exporting companies who traveled on a fact-finding industry visit to China in January included Trident Seafoods, American Seafoods, Golden Alaska Seafoods, Arctic Storm Holding Company and Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. The delegation visited restaurants, retailers and processors in Beijing, Qingdao, and Shanghai. Among the processors visited was Ding Wei Tai, which makes surimi products for Chinese restaurant chains.
Photo courtesy of Alamin Chowdhury/Shutterstock
