In the run-up to Chinese New Year, the high end of the seafood market is doing well despite storm clouds gathering over China’s economic growth.
China’s economy grew at 6.4 percent – its slowest rate since 1990, according to newly released data. Tightening credit and a weakening of consumer sentiment related to the trade war with the United States are being blamed for the drop.
Yet as Chinese New Year approaches, two of the country’s gift box specialists are doing brisk nationwide sales, according to telesales staff at two key firms. Based in Shanghai, Ling Hai Foodstuffs Trading Co. Ltd. distributes imported seafood under the “Royal Ocean” brand in gift boxes ranging in prices from CNY 380 to 5,000 (USD 55.89 to 735.50, EUR 49.17 to 646.98).
Branded with the tagline, “From the world’s low-pollution deepest oceans,” the company’s gift boxes include Irish crabs, mantis shrimp from Vietnam, and salmon from both Chile and Norway, according to a salesperson. The firm has added four stores in the city of Guiyang in southern China to tap into growing prosperity in the region, the saleswoman told SeafoodSource.
Focusing on local product, Hangzhou Wang Da Nian Hai Chan Foodstuffs Co. Ltd. sells boxes ranging in price from CNY 400 to 1,800 (USD 58.83 to 265.77, EUR 51.75 to 232.93). Its gift boxes include ribbonfish, yellow croaker, pomfret, and scallops. Like the owners of the “Royal Ocean” brand, the Wang Da Nian firm operates a chain of stores in major cities to drive sales. China’s east coast cities like Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Shanghai are “prosperous,” a salesperson told SeafoodSource.
“Seafood is the most prestigious product for gifts at Chinese New Year,” he added.
Photo courtesy of Hangzhou Wang Da Nian Hai Chan Foodstuffs Co.
