Salmon farming industry association SalmonChile has just launched a four-month, USD 200,000 (EUR 170,000) digital marketing campaign to regain the confidence of the Chinese consumer.
The campaign looks to address an unfounded scare in China that imported salmon were infected with COVID-19, after health authorities found the virus on fish chopping boards in Beijing’s Xinfadi seafood market – the epicenter of a midyear cluster of COVID-19 infections. With the scare, salmon sales dropped nationwide, and they still remain low. According to Clément, Chilean salmon sales in China are currently down about 80 percent from before the June incident.
"The campaign is called 'Salmon from Chile: Antarctic freshness and flavor,' because the Chinese have a very good vision of Antarctica,” SalmonChile President Arturo Clément, said. “The idea is to highlight the origin, freshness and safety of Chilean salmon.”
The plan includes recruiting 60 influencers who will back Chilean salmon on platforms such as TikTok, Kuaishou and Yizhibo – some of the leading social media platforms in the country –according to information on SalmonChile’s website.
The idea is to have re-invigorated demand by the Chinese New Year on 12 February 2021, although the SalmonChile executive recognizes this as no easy task.
“There is too much nervousness in China regarding the issue of COVID-19 and, in addition, the government is over-protective and creating uncertainty regarding food imports,” he noted. “It is very important for us to recover this market and inform the consumer well.”
Since June, Chile's authorities have been taking steps to calm Chinese fears over COVID-tainted salmon, including an unprecedented remote joint inspection of several Chilean salmon processing plants between Chile’s national fishing service, Sernapesca, with peers from China. SalmonChile also highlighted its members’ high sanitary standards in plants, with products following a chain of sanitary protection until their final destination.
On an international level, demand for Chilean salmon has grown in large markets such as the US, which has partially offset the lower shipments to China, Clément said, while domestic retail sales have increased 25 percent. In fact total salmon harvests for the year are expected to increase slightly over 2019 levels, with the industry making “a gigantic effort in terms of food safety” to maintain production, he added, but salmon farmers have been hurt on low international prices.
Clément had previously said that the biggest impact on Chile’s salmon sector will not come from the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, but rather from the low prices at which the sector is being forced to sell.
Photo courtesy of Have a nice day Photo/Shutterstock
