COVID-19-related import restrictions have driven up the price of pangasius in the Chinese market.
An expected surge in COVID-19 cases during the winter months has prompted a much stricter COVID-checking and inspection regime for any enterprises dealing with imported seafood or other cold-chain products. QR codes are required for imported products, according to Vanessa Jiang, supply chain manager at the Qingdao-based CAWM West Coast Market.
“Workers are now required to be tested weekly and, every two weeks, there must be a nucleic acid test of all your inventory if you’re a cold-chain company,” Jiang said.
CAWM, which is an acronym for China Supply and Marketing Agricultural Production Wholesale Market Holding in Qingdao, has received a CNY 850 million (USD 127.5 million, EUR 110.5 million) investment from the Qingdao municipal government to assist with building the first phase of the market. Phase two of the is set for completion in September. Earlier this year, Wang Peng, the chief executive of the Zhong Nong Modern Agricultural Development Co., which runs the market, predicted three million tons of seafood will be traded at the market annually once it’s fully operational.
But that goal could be at risk, as consumer enthusiasm for seafood has been dampened by higher seafood prices. Factories are charging more to cover costs they’ve incurred in protecting their workers, with many companies forced to pay for accommodation to keep workers on-site to ensure continued production, Jiang told SeafoodSource.
“We expect the price increase to continue until the new year,” she said.
One exception to higher seafood prices has been in the salmon market, Jiang said. The Russian market isn’t taking the same volume of Atlantic salmon it used to, and its supply is being switched to China, Jiang said.
“Chilled salmon prices on the domestic Chinese market have continued to fall,” she said. “In the past half-month, consumption of salmon fell and this has forced a reduction in imports.”
Consumption of Ecuadorian shrimp also remains subdued, resulting in lower prices that Jiang said will remain low until the Chinese New Year buying season starts early next year.
Photo courtesy of CAWM
