China’s seafood prices rose 7.9 percent year-on-year in December, but were up only 0.3 percent month-on-month.
Consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in the last month of 2021, weaker than the 2.3 percent increase seen in November. Food prices appear to have been tamed by a 22 percent drop in meat prices, which still rose 0.5 percent on a month-on-month basis. That move took 0.94 percent off the CPI index.
Logistical snarls caused by COVID-19-related movement restrictions and quarantines, as well as inclement weather in key growing regions, have been blamed for surging food prices in recent months. Vegetable prices rose 10.6 percent year-on-year in December but were down 8.3 percent relative to November, and fruit was up 4.8 percent on the year.
China’s producer price index (PPI) rose 10.3 percent year-on-year in December, largely driven by higher energy costs. But the figure is lower than an October peak of 13.5 percent year-on-year, suggesting weaker economic sentiment.
Consumption at home rather than dining out has become a pandemic trend in China, lifting demand for convenience seafood products like those being produced by Guolian Aquatic and Fujian Haixin Food Co.
Wider community spread of the omicron variant could put a major dent in seafood consumption in the run-up to Chinese New Year on 4 February, according to Shanghai-based Sitonia Consulting, which monitors demand for food commodities.
“Consumers are likely to retrench” if omicron spreads, the group said.
Chinese state media has been reporting that many migrant workers will stay put rather than making the annual return to their hometowns for Chinese New Year, resulting in lower demand for seafood from the catering sector.
This comes as the country announced its GDP growth of 4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2021, the slowest year-on-year growth for a quarter in 18 months and a signal to economists the Chinese economy continues to slow.
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