Norway’s salmon exporters may be faced with yet another restriction on access to China but retailers and wet market traders in Beijing say sales of salmon grew by 10 to 20 percent per month this summer.
Media has reported that China is banning imports of whole salmon (as opposed to filets) from Norway, but the country’s main export body claims there have been no new Chinese bans. “We at the Norwegian Seafood Council are not aware of any kind of ban on salmon to China, though we register several media outlets are claiming this,” Sigmund Bjorgo who heads up the Norwegian Seafood Export Council’s office in China, told Seafoodsource.
Exports of fresh Norwegian salmon to China as of week 36 this year are 6,548 metric tons (MT), compared to 5,484 MT for the same period last year. The average prices paid for Norwegian salmon by Chinese importers have slipped slightly however, falling to NOK 46.06 (USD 7.94, EUR 6.19) from NOK 46.96 (USD 8.10, EUR 6.31) in the same period last year. That figure is ex-Oslo and doesn’t include shipping costs.
According to numerous media reports this week, China’s abruptly announced ban on whole salmon from Norway — in force since September 10 — until Norwegian exporters could certify that the fish were from waters free of ISA, a disease of Atlantic salmon. Norwegian salmon producers have been raging at China’s tightened and erratic inspection regime for salmon in imports in recent years here but further curbs are unlikely to weaken China’s growing appetite for salmon.
Staff at two outlets of the mass-market Jing Kelong supermarket chain this week reported frequent difficulties getting salmon with staff in both stores explaining that suppliers “hadn’t delivered today.” Norway’s firms would have trouble adjusting supply which typically sees Chinese supermarkets supplied with whole fish, according to a source at a Norwegian seafood firm’s rep office in Beijing.
Yet the following day both outlets of the supermarket had fillets of Norwegian salmon selling at RMB 176 (USD 28.66, EUR 22.32)/kg while salmon heads retail at RMB 30 (USD 4.88, EUR3.80)/kg in the busy seafood/meat section of the Jing Kelong outlet on Tuanjiehu Street, a residential neighborhood in central Beijing. “We usually have it every day and sell a lot to people who like to eat it raw at home,” explained a floor manager.
Salmon sales rose by 10 to 20 percent month on month in August according to eight salmon vendors at the Sanyuanli and Jingshen fish markets in Beijing surveyed for this report. Demand for salmon is being driven by the increasing popularity of Japanese and sushi-style dining: both seen as desirable by upwardly mobile Chinese who, despite the political animosity between the two countries, often import fashion and lifestyle trends from neighboring Japan.
Retailers like salmon for the opportunities it provides to charge a hefty premium: small portions of salmon filet sell for RMB 296 (USD 48.20, EUR 37.55) to RMB 336 (USD 54.71, EUR42.62) per kilo at Beijing outlets of premium retailer BHG. The price varies, explained sales staff, with the higher prices paid for higher fat content.
Norway appears to be the victim of Chinese displeasure over the awarding of the Nobel peace prize to a Chinese dissident in 2011. A diplomatic source in Beijing suggests the Chinese government is waiting on an apology from its Norwegian counterpart, which has no say in the awarding of the Nobel prizes.
While significant marketing investment undoubtedly grew the market for salmon in China, other suppliers are doing well. Sashimi-style packages of Chilean salmon sell for RMB 21.80 (USD 3.55, EUR2.77)/200g on the popular www.womai.com online store while another leading online retailer Jingdong (www.jd.com) sells Norwegian salmon at RMB 64 (USD 3.54, EUR 2.77)/500g.
Chinese middle class demand for salmon however shows no sign of ebbing, and indeed looks like growing more varied in nature. For instance Hollywin Shanghai Frozen Food Co has launched a “Golden Fjord” brand of chilled, packaged sashimi strips for the Chinese retail market with 100g packs selling at RMB 32.60 (USD 5.31, EUR4.14) at Beijing outlets of Chinese premium retailer BHG. Likewise, a Qingdao based distributor is selling what’s categorized as Danish salmon under the Polar Seafood brand: the brand offers the salmon flavored with white wine or with lemon sauce.
Novel flavorings tend to be a hit with Chinese consumers chasing more exotic dining experiences. Meanwhile salmon has also become a hit with China’s lucrative and growing health and baby foods sector. Heinz markets salmon flavored baby food and noodles for toddlers in China: 336g boxes of “high nutrition” boxes of the noodles sell for RMB 24.80 (USD 4.04, EUR 3.15) while 113g jars of jars of salmon flavored baby food sell for RMB 9.60 (USD 1.56, EUR1.22) in Beijing supermarkets. The dietary benefits of salmon are prominently promoted on packaging of both products.
For those without kids, there’s also even a salmon-flavored cat food on offer for the growing legions of Chinese who can afford pets: the “Whiska’s” (produced by UK-based Mars Co) line of salmon sells in Beijing supermarkets at RMB 39 (USD 6.35, EUR 4.95) per 500g pack.
The Norwegian Seafood Exporters Council, an industry body, spent over USD 1 million (EUR 779,070) on a marketing campaign in China this summer designed to maintain consumer recognition of Norway, which shipped 7,650 tons to China in 2013, a slight decrease on the previous year’s figures.
