Prominent Chinese seafood executives are going public with their ambitions to expand their aquaculture and mariculture operations in Southeast Asia.
Speaking on “Dialogue,” a flagship program of the China Central Television (CCTV) 2 channel, Guangdong Evergreen Group CEO Chen Dan said his company is looking into growing its Southeast Asia aquaculture operations. Guangdong Evergreen is a conglomerate which produces and processes fish, shrimp, and aquafeed, with subsidiaries in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
“The climate [in Southeast Asia] is very suitable for aquaculture; costs like labor are very competitive, and Southeast Asian countries have tax-free access to many markets,” Chen said.
Speaking on the same show was Shandong Ocean Geng Hai Technology Group, General Manager Zhou Yan, who stressed that China has the technology and “full value chain” to expand its seafood farming operations abroad.
Zhou, whose company produces grouper off the coast of Yantai in the province of Shandong, said Southeast Asia could provide a more conducive growing environment for aquaculture than the colder waters of Northern China.
The expansion of Chinese aquaculture operations into Southeast Asia would align with the goals of Chinese policymakers, who have called for an expansion of China's aquaculture production as a way to buttress China's food security.
China has backed up that effort with a heavy investments in its mariculture equipment sector. China now has enough high-quality aquaculture equipment and expertise it can begin exporting itto the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia, according to Chen, who said his company began its efforts in the segment when it reengineered a marine cage purchased from Norway in 2006.
“That was our first-generation mariculture platform," he said. "We were able to increase the scale [in each platform] from 15,000 cubic meters to 30,000, and now, in 2024, we have a 60,000-cubic-meter scale."
According to Ocean University of China Professor Han Limin and Xiamen municipal government Ocean Development and Fisheries Bureau Deputy Head Song Xian Cheng, China is “closing the gap” with Norway in terms of mariculture technology. The expansion of mariculture using Chinese equipment would reduce reliance on imported seafood and create opportunities for tourism, according to Song, though he said China has a ways to go on seedling production.
Chen said the production of broodstock remains a “blank space” for China’s shrimp industry, with few producers applying the funds and time required to reduce the country’s reliance on imported broodstock. To alleviate that issue, China’s Agriculture Ministry has issued subsidies the establishment of two seedling development bases.
