Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a Canadian government agency tasked with promoting food exports, is projecting long-term growth in seafood demand from China driven by improved logistics and the build out of e-commerce capabilities that will make it easier to achieve market penetration in China’s smaller cities and rural areas.
A recent report published by the agency points to the fact that annual per-capita seafood consumption is as low as 10 kilograms per year in some inland regions of China, while as high as 65 kilograms in coastal regions like Fujian and Guangdong.
That leaves plenty of room for increased seafood consumption in several regions around the country, the report said.
“Chinese consumers living in third-tier (and below) cities and rural areas are expected to drive the next wave of consumption,” the report said. “High-end imported seafood products will find new opportunities for growth in China.”
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada singled out Canadian coldwater shrimp as an example of seafood with the potential to be embraced by more remote inland cities like Lanzhou and Urumqi.
“[Canadian shrimp] has taken root in the Chinese market, completing the localization process, paving the way for future expansion into secondary and tertiary markets, and serving more dining and group meal customers,” the report said.
According to the report one factor driving the growth of such products is …
