Tilapia farm-gate prices in China have increased by 15 percent year-on-year, according to a leading producer and processor.
Export-focused Hainan Xiangtai Fishery Co. is paying on average CNY 9.00 (USD 1.35, EUR 1.17) per kilogram for 500-gram-plus sized fish this summer, the company's general manager, Xiaowen Lin, told SeafoodSource. Sales to the domestic Chinese market are “increasing every year” Lin said.
“We believe sales in 2021 to the domestic market will increase by over 30 percent,” he said. “We see increasing sales to the domestic market every year for both live tilapia and processed tilapia. The annual production of tilapia in China was around 1.65 million metric tons in recent years, of which approximately 800,000 metric tons is consumed in the domestic market ... I believe more and more tilapia will be sold in the domestic market as the demand for seafood proteins is increasing.”
Lin said the domestic market will “take a lot of tilapia in coming years and it could affect the supply and price level to export soon, or later.”
The extent of future shifts between exports and imports is a question Lin said he has been asking himself “in recent years."
"Especially this year," Lin said.
Demand for tilapia in the domestic market is also being driven by decreased supplies of freshwater fish in China “due to environment protection regulations,” said Lin. Tilapia is appearing in the domestic market in new and varied formats, Lin said.
“You can get it live from traditional markets and also from supermarkets and some restaurants. There are many different types of processed tilapia products, mainly frozen tilapia. There is gilled and scaled tilapia, boneless and skinless fillets, skin-on fillets, tilapia portions, and pickled tilapia,” Lin said.
Lin said for now exports remain important for tilapia producers.
“As for our company, exports have been our main business since 2004,” he said. “Every year, we have exported more and tilapia to overseas markets, for example we might export about 2,000 containers or loads in 2021. This would be compared to about 1,700 loads in 2020.”
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