It might be an increasingly important market for salmon imports, but China also has salmon export ambitions of its own.
A newly formed alliance of salmon and trout producers in the western region of Qinghai claim exports of 1,600 metric tons in 2017. According to Wang Yu Hu, head of the Chinese agricultural ministry’s office in Qinghai, the alliance aims to market its fish under the “Long Yang Xia” – the name of a lake-filled area popular with tourists in China.
With support from local government, some 27 firms have joined the alliance, which touts the clean, cold water resources available Qinghai, one of China’s most sparsely populated but remote regions. Among the firms is Qinghai Minze Long Yang Xia Aquaculture Co., which sells its fish domestically and internationally. So far, the alliance have sent salmon shipments to South Korea, Japan, Russia, and the European Union. The species being produced translate from Mandarin as salmon (Oncorhynchus) and trout (salmo playtcephalus).
Qinghai produces an estimated 30 percent of China’s overall salmon output. The national government has been keen to promote salmon farming as a revenue source for impoverished peasants in the region.
