China’s oyster imports softened significantly in 2024, particularly hurting the nation’s key supplier: France.
Official customs data shows China imported 1,570 metric tons (MT) of oysters last year, down on the 2,090 MT imported the year before and down even more than the 2,130 MT China bought in 2022.
France saw its shipments fall from 1,240 tons exported in 2023 to 909 MT last year.
French oysters are coveted in Asia for their high quality, and the product even saw success during the Covid-19 pandemic, signaling that Chinese consumers’ current lack of spending power is directly affecting seafood imports across the board.
Last year’s imports from China’s second top supplier of oysters, New Zealand, were largely flat at 145 tons, compared to around the same the year before.
The next top supplier, Ireland, saw its oyster exports to China spike, rising to 155 MT from the 124 MT sent in 2023 and the 65 MT sent in 2022.
Regarding other seafood products, China’s imports of crab grew year over year, with shipments from Africa – particularly from Tanzania and Kenya – growing strongly.
China’s total crab imports in 2024 totaled 133,293 MT compared to 118,717 MT in 2023.
Tanzania’s shipments rose from 848 MT to 1,345 MT year over year, while exports from Kenya grew from 274 MT to 401 MT. Madagascar and Mozambique both shipped over 1,600 MT.
These totals are likely to grow even further in 2025, as China recently opened seafood export access to a number of African markets, diversifying its food supply away from the West as trade disruptions loom.
As part of that trend of shifting food supply away from the West, Chinese crab shipments from Canada fell from 15,038 MT to 11,363 MT.
The top supplier, Russia, grew its shipments from 40,893 MT in 2023 to 41,575 MT last year but has also focused recently on growing sales of the crustacean domestically.
Bangladesh has also become an increasingly important supplier to China, shipping 8,448 MT of crab last year, up from 5,832 MT in 2023.
China continues to suffer from poor consumer demand and price deflation, worrying seafood exporters. According to governmental data, China’s consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in 2024, well short of the 3 percent targeted by the government.
