Russian seafood a bigger draw for Chinese consumers, traders

A Shanghai port and seafood trading center is celebrating the arrival of a 50-ton shipment of king crab from the Kholmsk region of Russia. 

In December, Shanghai Changxing Hong Sha port received governmental approval to intake seafood, one of several to get the right to conduct customs processes for fresh seafood. The government was partially reacting to growing local demand for seafood. The increase in the number of ports with import permits is also serving the role of keeping prices and logistical costs down. That, in turn, is further driving demand. 

The Kholmsk crabs, after arriving in what’s termed by its operators as Shanghai’s only ‘class A’ fishing port, were sold in the adjacent 20,000-square-meter trading halls, which opened in March 2017. The port also features fishing boat repair facilities and a refueling center, according to operating firm Shanghai Changxing Yu Gang Co. Local government has said it wants to drive development of seafood and other maritime industries. 

Separately, cross-border trade in seafood has been hampered by difficulties in getting perishable goods from Russia into China. This was the subject of a roundtable meeting of Chinese and Russian transport officials met in the northern Chinese city of Harbin recently. 

The two sides want to increase shipments of Russian agricultural and seafood produce into China, according to a statement from the meeting released by China’s transport ministry. 

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