China appears to be holding its own as a destination for imports of raw seafood for processing and re-export.
Recently released customs data shows China imported 214,000 tons of raw materials in the first three months of 2018, down 3.9 percent year-on-year but up 4.4 percent in value terms to USD 1.09 billion (EUR 925.6 million). Of that total, some 38,400 was made up of bonded product imported, processed, and re-exported for clients by Chinese processors. This represents a 14.8 percent increase in volume terms on the same period last year while there was a 1.96 percent rise in value terms to USD 255 million (EUR 216.5 million).
The data also show there also appears to be an increase in prices or value-add of re-exported products.
While Chinese labor rates are now up to three times higher than many Southeast Asian nations, it retains a considerable advantage in terms of logistics facilities and cost-efficiency, with many of its principal aquaculture and processing centres like Dalian, Qingdao, and Xiamen clustered around ports with high-frequency international routes.
Photo courtesy of Frozen Products Ltd.
