Chinese consumer seafood prices rose 2.4 percent year-on-year in April 2022, according to new consumer price index (CPI) data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The CPI data reveals COVID-related restrictions on logistics are driving up food prices. Average prices for fresh vegetables and fruit rose by 24 percent and 14 percent in April, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.
The impact of COVID lockdowns on freight movement has added inflationary pressure to a range of Chinese prices. The Meijia Group, which has major processing facilities in Shandong, managed to increase the percentage of its overall output sold in the domestic market from 10 to 40 percent in the past five years, but the lockdown of Shanghai and other key consumer markets has “greatly complicated” the company’s strategy, the company’s CEO Shen Zhaohua told Shandong TV recently. Meijia has also incurred significant expenses on containers docked and waiting at Qingdao port, Shen said.
Similarly, the COVID-related lockdown of Shanghai has complicated the plans of one of China’s leading seafood processors to shift from being export-focused to concentrating on the domestic market. Guolian Aquatic has seen its share prices rise in recent months as investors zoned in on its significant investment in ready-to-eat meals and heavily processed convenience seafood products.
Another factor contributing to higher prices is China’s annual summer moratoriums on fishing in China’s domestic waters. In recent years, seafood prices in China have risen with the coming into force of the moratorium.
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