The transition of China’s tilapia industry from low-cost exports to value-added domestic sales is continuing to take shape with the launch of a Guolian Aquatic range of pre-grilled and packaged tilapia ready meals for the retail market.
Better known as a shrimp farmer and processor, Guolian Aquatic has joined China’s convenience food market with a range of pre-cooked tilapia for the home-eating market. In the first week of January 2022, Guolian received preliminary authorization from Chinese securities regulators to issue CNY 1 billion (USD 153 million, EUR 138 million) in new stock - of which half will go to subsidiary Guomei to help it expand its processing facilities for pre-cooked convenience seafood.
A one-kilogram packaged grilled tilapia cooked in spicy flavorings traditional to southwestern Chinese cuisine is selling on e-commerce site JD.com for CNY 79.90 (USD 11.90, EUR 11.02), which is over three times the price of a frozen filleted fish of equivalent size, according to recent wholesale market pricing.
Cooked in garlic, the offering competes with a wave of new convenience product offerings now being offered to Chinese consumers looking for new, convenient seafood options as the country nears its third year of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guolian offering feeds three, the typical size of many Chinese nuclear families. Guolian aims to produce 50,000 metric tons of its convenience line at its plant in Zhanjiang, China, operated by its subsidiary Guomei Seafood Co.
“Our research is first-class. Our machines allow us to roast and freeze the products in order to retain all the best taste and freshness,” Guolian General Manager Tang An Lian said in a Guangdong TV interview.
In its flavoring, packaging, and marketing, Guolian’s new value-added tilapia offering is competing with a range of new convenience-focused seafood offerings on sale in Chinese stores. State-owned Liaoyu has begun selling dried seafood snacks at CNY 19.90 (USD 2.98, EUR 2.74) per 100-gram sachet. The snacks are made from what the firm calls a “distant-water” fish, the name of which translates from Chinese as “slender lionfish.”
Guangdong, China-based Guolian has invested heavily in new facilities to supply catering companies and retailers with pre-cooked and convenience seafood products. Customers include leading hot-pot chain Haidilao, fast food chains Xia Bu Xia Bu and Si Nian, and Hooter’s, Hard Rock, Denny’s, and Applebees.
Research provided to SeafoodSource by research agency Euromonitor International states that while Chinese consumers have embraced convenience dining during COVID-19 lockdowns, many consumers were wary of the low seafood content in frozen seafood products in particular.
Other players in the market include Fujian Haixin Food Co. and Fujian Anjoy Foods – the former grew sales of its fish balls and other processed seafood snacks by 40 percent in 2020 to CNY 2.83 billion (USD 424 million, EUR 367 million).
Photo courtesy of Guolian Aquatic
