A combination of factors, including shortage of supply and higher feed input prices, have sent seafood prices upwards in China, according to consumer price index figures compiled by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Seafood prices rose by 13.8 percent year-on-year in May, with anecdotal evidence on Weibo and other social media platforms suggesting that prices of mainstream products like carp have soared.
The overall food consumer price index, however, has been tamed by a fall in prices of pork, the mainstay meat of China’s consumers. Prices for pork were down 23.8 percent in May compared to the same month last year.
A tightening supply of imports is contributing to higher seafood prices. On 10 June, China announced the suspension for one week of imports into China by six Indian shrimp companies due to “detection of COVID-19 traces on seafood packaging.”
Commentators in leading Chinese business newspapers have suggested prices for domestic freshwater aquaculture products are up in large part due to aquaculture farmers reducing volumes this year after being burned by falling demand and supply chain disruptions in 2020 caused by China’s COVID-19 restrictions on movement and large gatherings.
Others are blaming higher prices on the rising cost of feed inputs, including soy. U.S. monetary policy has flooded the world with cash, leading to higher agriculture prices, according to an editorial in China’s Economic Daily. Additionally, drought in Brazil – China’s traditional supplier – has pushed up demand and prices for the oilseed, a key foodstuff ingredient.
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