China’s growing appetite for oysters is driving prices higher, offering a premium to western prices and drawing more European supply into the country.
Imported oysters are becoming a staple with young customers in particular on Beijing’s nightlife scene, according to importers here. Local restaurants like Sino-French establishment Brasserie de Flo charge CNY 70 (USD 11.03, EUR 9.72) to CNY 80 (USD 12.61, EUR 11.10) per piece of Fine de Claire, which is significantly more expensive than typical European prices. This is because oysters have really become accepted as part of the French dining experience and that is still in the growth mode as more and more Chinese people travel abroad and have the money to eat what they tried on their holidays, said a saleswoman manning a stall operated by one of Beijing’s biggest seafood importers, the Sunkfa Co., at Beijing’s massive Jingshen market. China’s oyster imports totaled almost 4,000 metric tons (MT) in 2014, compared to 1,500 MT in 2009 according to Chinese trade data.
One firm shifting its focus to the China market this year is Woodstown Bay Oyster Co. in Dunmore East on Ireland’s east coast. The firm is keen to increase its options and diversify from a current reliance on the French market, says company head of operations Naomi Barlow. The firm had invested significantly to improve productivity and efficiency at Woodstown Bay, which produces an average 1,000 MT per year. “The Chinese customers we’ve talked to are very keen, it’s a meaty oyster,” according to Barlow – orders have been coming in from customers in Hong Kong where the firm operates through Hong Kong-based distributor Family Care Ltd.
Also offering French and Irish oysters, Earl Helie & Fils is a French oyster producer seeking sales in China – consumption is down in Europe due to prices which rose significantly due to increased mortality levels in France in recent years, hence selling in Asia is less complicated that switching to the U.S. market, which requires a burdensome amount of red tape for oysters, says company managing director Michel Helie. “Asian customers are getting more sophisticated … they start to see oysters are like wine, different terroir produces a different taste, so it is with oysters.”
That’s a thought shared by Peggy Wong, general manager of Gabriel Oysters, a Hong Kong-based firm also supplying mainland food service clients. Wong has decided to narrow the focus of her seafood import business strictly to oysters “because there’s too much price competition on other imported species.” She has signed up exclusive dealership rights for Hong Kong and mainland China with several French oyster companies, among them the Oysters Roman’s firm from Saint Malo (France) whose oysters are varieties named after Roman emperors such as Nero and Tiberius.
Having secured sole agent rights to brands like Oysters Roman’s, Wong says she’s intent on taking them into mainland cities where demand is solid, and to Macau where casinos sustain some high-end dining. “The fin d’éclair is normal now in China, it’s a Gillardeau that people want.” Prices range from HKD 22 (USD 2.84, EUR 2.50) at wholesale and HKD 70 (USD 9.03, EUR 7.95) in restaurants to whom Wong also supplies tasting notes and training. “It’s like wine, it’s becoming a [means of showing] sophistication for people,” says Wong.
French product continues to command premium prices, but North American suppliers are also vying for sales in China. For James Power, head of Raspberry Point Oyster Co. in Canada, the priority is to build on sales in Beijing and Guangzhou. “Educating customers about different oysters is key. We’ve got to convince them American east coast oysters are as good as varieties like the French ones,” which are now effectively luxury brand names in China, according to Power.
The volumes are small compared to what some of the big French farms are shipping – Raspberry Point produces 100 tons a month. While the firm has buyers in North America for its product Power is keen to collect business cards in China “so we know who to call” when sales go soft in America.
Increased Chinese travel and investment in overseas real estate is having an impact on seafood consumption at home and internationally. The spread of Chinese businesspeople, tourists and purchasers of real estate means Sydney is the biggest market for Australia-based Lucky Bay Seafood, followed by Hong Kong, explains Marcus Tromp, general manager of the firm.
However he’s come to appreciate that size matters in China – while exporters of natural produce have a taste advantage over the largely-farmed local shellfish and abalone, some of the abalone and oysters coming from clean water locations take longer to mature and are smaller in size. “They really seek a larger product in China and that makes it harder to get the premium prices in China for product which is smaller-sized,” says Tromp.
