A massive new seafood market has opened in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu as part of the ambitions of the Chinese Tongwei conglomerate to enter higher-yield distribution activities.
Built at a cost of CNY 120 million (USD 19.1 million, EUR 15.4 million) in Longquanyi District, the sprawling Tongwei Sanlian Aquatic Products Trading Center aims to sell 500,000 kilos of seafood per day, with electronic payments and tracing systems in place to gather data on customer spending habits.
Opened with great fanfare recently, the trading center features 400 individual booths as well as large tanks where live seafood can be stored and perused by customers. Visitors can also order Tongwei fish feed and antibiotics on-site.
Few firms are as large and influential in China’s agriculture or aquaculture business as Tongwei Co. In seafood, the conglomerate has businesses across the sector, from feed companies to a tilapia and catfish fry company.
Among the Tongwei Group’s subsidiaries, Tongwei Co. Ltd is a leading Chinese feed producer listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Tongwei has had a long-term strategy of building its aquaculture operations alongside its aquafeed sales, both in China and overseas. Beyond China, the firm is active in Southeast Asia, with a fish feed mill in Vietnam.
A key strength of Tongwei is its investment in aquaculture research. Largely centered on Hainan Island tilapia farming, the group’s aquaculture output, meanwhile, is processed in the firm’s food processing division.
