China’s seafood trade has expanded through Q3 2022, according to the latest data from Chinese customs authorities.
China’s seafood imports totaled 3.26 million metric tons (MT) year-to-date through the end of September 2022, up 21.3 percent year-over-year. By value, imports rose 42 percent to CNY 92.4 billion (USD 12.9 billion, EUR 12.5 billion). The share of imported seafood attributed to human consumption – 31.4 million MT – rose by 21.8 percent year-over-year and climbed 41.5 percent in value terms.
China’s seafood exports totaled 2.7 million MT, an increase of 1.1 percent year-on-year in volume and up 11.5 percent in value to CNY 109.7 billion (USD 15.3 billion, EUR 14.8 billion). China’s frozen seafood imports were up 27.6 percent by volume to 1.4 million MT and up 46 percent in value to CNY 22 billion (USD 3.08 billion, EUR 2.97 billion).
Chinese seafood exporters have been battered in recent months by weakness in demand from key Western markets, which are struggling with inflation. China’s overall exports to the U.S. fell 13 percent in October, the third consecutive month of declines, while its overall exports to the European Union dropped 9 percent compared year-over-year. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic bloc was China’s top trading partner in the first 10 months of the year.
China’s seafood imports dropped in 2021 and 2020 from an all-time high in 2019, but they remain higher than 2017 and 2018 levels.
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