A survey of 80 markets nationwide showed Chinese seafood prices averaged CNY 24.67 (USD 3.69, EUR 3.19) per kilo in December, a 5 percent increase year-over-year and a 0.56 percent increase month-on-month, according to data published by China’s Ministry of Agriculture.
This follows increased prices in November and December 2021. Data for January 2022 is not yet available.
Overall sales volume at the markets surveyed was down 3.6 percent year-on-year in December, while value was up 6.81 percent, suggesting pricing remains strong, an indication of tighter supply. Upward pressure remains on prices for tilapia, an important export commodity that has increasingly become a staple of the domestic convenience food industry. Tilapia prices averaged CNY 17.57 (USD 2.63, EUR 2.28) per kilo in December, up 2.3 percent month-on-month.
The big driver of prices appears to be freshwater produce, a surprising trend given the recent sharp fall in prices for pork, which is often eaten interchangeably with freshwater fish. Average prices for freshwater seafood soared 10.6 percent year-on-year to an average CNY 17.40 (USD 2.61, EUR 2.26) per kilogram, with freshwater fish prices up 11.29 percent in the timeframe. Average prices for freshwater crustaceans increased 7.05 percent year-on-year.
The data may also point to a favoring of cheaper seafood varieties. Average seawater seafood prices –which tend to be higher than freshwater prices – rose only 0.8 percent year-on-year, but this varied by species. Average fish prices fell 5.34 percent, yet crustacean prices jumped, with average prices for crab up 4.3 percent to CNY 166.80 (USD 25.02, EUR 21.60) per kilo and CNY 144.49 (USD 21.60, EUR 18.70) per kilo for the so-called shuttle and blue crabs (the Portunidae and the Scylla serrata, or mud crab), the two most sought-after Chinese sea-water crab varieties. And there was a 5 percent year-on-year upswell in average shellfish prices.
Strict COVID-related screening procedures at ports have squeezed the amount of imported seafood reaching local markets, and several other factors are dampening consumer appetites. China’s move against over-indebted real estate developers and an ongoing clampdown on the tech sector has reduced confidence in the economy, while restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 have also depressed consumption. China remains committed to a zero-COVID policy, in part due to the threadbare nature of the health system, particularly in rural areas where many of the country’s elderly live.
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