China’s efforts to clean up its inland freshwater aquaculture sector are being complicated by hotter weather and a longer and more stringent fishing ban, both of which have driven up prices for aquaculture staples like carp.
Average prices for crucian carp hit a high of CNY 12.00 (USD 1.73, EUR 1.55) per 500 grams this month in southerly Guangdong Province, a key consumption region for seafood, according to data compiled by the provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.
That price is on a par with prices paid for Spanish mackerel in key seafood trading hubs like Qingdao, where Spanish mackerel imported from Japan sold at CNY 12.00 (USD 1.73 1.55) per 500 grams in the past week, according to prices posted by Hai Yun An Wholesale Market, one of the leading seafood wholesale markets in the city. Small pomfret are being for between CNY 8.00 (USD 1.15, EUR 1.03) and CNY 10.00 (USD 1.44, EUR 1.29) per 500 grams, depending on the size of the fish.
Higher prices for domestically produced aquaculture will further increase the attractiveness of imports much in the same way as rising production cost for various agricultural commodities have in recent years led China to seek less costly imports.
Aquaculture producers in southern China are bracing for high temperatures this summer, which could increase the mortality levels in their carp ponds, according to the provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau. Provinces like Guangdong saw temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius in the summer of 2018, causing heat stress and mortalities for fish farmers who have also been pressured by sharper enforcement of water pollution regulations.
Prices for Crucian carp this month were considerably cheaper in less wealthy inland regions like Gansu, with wholesale prices in the provincial capital of Lanzhou (a 20-hour truck drive from Guangdong) averaging CNY 8.00 (USD 1.15, EUR 1.03) per 500g. The presence of large ports like Guangzhou and Shenzhen has long made imports more competitive in Guangdong compared to product trucked from inland regions.
