Farm gate prices for Pacific white (vannamei) shrimp from China are down from the same period last year with producers in the key Guangdong region getting CNY 22 per kilogram (kg) (USD 3.58; EUR 2.86) for 40-count shrimp, which is down from CNY 26 (USD 4.23; EUR 3.39) paid at the same period last year, according to ministry of agriculture data. Processing factories have large inventories and with no major consumption point until the Chinese New Year in the spring, it looks like prices are set to remain flat for shrimp farmers.
But Chinese domestic production of shrimp is becoming more concentrated and tightening in some regions is making imported shrimp an increasingly attractive proposition according to distributors. Farm gate prices remain flat but there are signs that local output is becoming more concentrated in particular regions of the country. Traders at two wholesale markets in Beijing — Jingshan and Yugezhuang — told SeafoodSource last week that logistics costs are adding up to 10 percent onto shrimp prices in northern markets. “Now traders have to truck the shrimps from Guangdong because we can’t seem to get any from Dalian and Yantai like before,” noted a trader at the Jingshan market.
According to the traders, an increasing shortage of land and increased production of shellfish have restricted crustacean cultivation in northern provinces like Liaoning (Dalian) and Shandong (Yantai) with production now centered on the southern province of Guangdong, as well as the neighboring provinces of Guangxi and Hainan.
China accounts for 20 percent of global shrimp output and 60 percent of local output comes from Zhangjiang, according to Long Tujin at the Zhanjiang Aquatic Products Industry Association. He predicts prices will continue to rise in the long term. Leading shrimp exporter Guolian has vowed to increase the percentage of its earnings from domestic sales, where it seeks to compete with multinationals like CP and Culimer. China’s demand for shrimp means conglomerate CP imports ‘peeled tail on’ for sale in supermarkets across China at CNY 32.60 (USD 5.30; EUR 4.25) for 250 grams (at WalMart stores in Beijing).
Safety remains a priority in the local market. A local shrimp producer has raised eyebrows in recent weeks with claims that many Chinese shrimp retailers and food and beverage vendors use chemicals to lighten the colors of shrimp heads, which change naturally. Its domestically produced large shrimp (21-24 centimeters) are “safe for babies and pregnant women,” according to Liaoning-based distributor Cui Xiao Fei Seafood Co. It sells the shrimp at RMB 99 for 500 grams (USD 16.12; EUR 12.90).
Argentine red shrimp is proving a hit with Chinese consumers who are paying RMB 114 (USD 18.56; EUR 14.86) for 500 grams at the retail level. It’s a “fatty meat and it’s as clean as snow,” explained a salesman at leading Chinese seafood importer-distributor Blue Snow, which is importing shrimp from two Argentine firms, Conarpesa and Moscuzza. Beijing-based brand Pin Xian Mao is meanwhile marketing frozen Canadian coldwater shrimp at RMB 105 (USD 17.10; EUR 13.68) for 500 grams. Sales are strong, prompting the company to raise imports by 30 percent in 2015, according to staff at the firm’s sales office near the Jingshan seafood wholesale market. The firm is also seeking additional suppliers.
