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Reykjavik, Iceland, Nov 5, 2007 - (Hugin via ABN Newswire) - Glitnir China Seafood Industry Report 2007
Shanghai/Reykjavik/Oslo - 5 November 2007 - China is now the largest producer of seafood in the world, supplying some 35 percent of total global seafood products*. In addition, China leads the world in terms of the export of seafood produce, with Japan accounting for about half of its total seafood exports in recent years. Glitnir's latest report highlights that demand for high quality seafood in the Chinese market is set to continue to grow, due to increasingly affluent consumers, greater production capacity and the traditional popularity of seafood, particularly shellfish, in Asia.
Glitnir, the leading global supplier of financial services to the seafood industry, released its new report on China's seafood industry today, at the Ocean of Opportunities Conference in Shanghai, China. The report provides an analytical overview of the main trends and developments in the Chinese seafood sector.
The new Glitnir Seafood Industry Report is the second annual report to be published by Glitnir on the Chinese market. This report is the sixth in a series of seven issues planned for 2007. Issues from the series' previous four years of publication have focused on the seafood industries in Europe, North and Latin America. All previous reports are available at www.glitnir.is/seafood.
Main findings from the report:
Production China's total seafood production was 51 million tons, which represented a stable year-on-year growth of 4.08 percent.*
Aquaculture, capture, production and processing are concentrated in a few regional centers, notably around the coastal cities of Dalian and Qingdao in the north and the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong in the south. Shandong province, of which Qingdao is the capital, was the leader among China's provinces in the production of seafood, with a total of 7.4 million tons.*
Out of the top ten aquaculture products harvested in Chinese seawater, six are varieties of shellfish. Of the freshwater aquaculture products, it is carp that is most likely to find its way onto the Chinese dining table, accounting for 72 percent of total production. However species such as shrimp and tilapia are gaining in importance and in recent years China produced some 41 per cent of the world's shrimp, making it the world's largest producer.*
However the growth and success of Chinese seafood production in 2007 has been overshadowed by a series of import bans from trading partners relating to antibiotic contamination, carcinogens, and in earlier years traces of chloramphenicol. In response to sharp criticism from abroad, the Chinese government has implemented a series of measures to address product quality control and monitoring, including over 700 national standards, almost 2,000 industrial standards and 1,780 quality inspection agencies at provincial, municipality and county level.
Consumption Seafood consumption in Asia is the highest in the world. Consumption in China has grown in line with the expansion of the country's affluent middle class, rising from 11.5kg per capita in 1990 to an average of 25.6kg per capita in 2006. A further rise of 40 percent to 35.9kg is expected by 2020. With the exception of shrimp, consumption of which has grown tenfold in the last decade,
China is forecast to be able to satisfy such an increase in demand independently.
The Chinese domestic market is dominated by freshwater fish and molluscs and the only imports for domestic consumption are higher value seafood like abalone and shrimp. Changes in the habits of domestic shoppers are becoming evident. A move away from the traditional wet markets and smaller shops towards supermarkets and megastores is now being seen. This is fuelled in part by the recent food safety scares but also by the sudden appearance of large foreign chains such as Carrefour and WalMart, which have both had to accommodate a diverse and mostly live seafood selection onto their shop floors.
Processing In recent years seafood processing has seen significant growth in China and processing for re-export has become a multi-billion dollar trade. Much of the raw material for this activity is frozen seawater catch and is supplied by Russia and the US. Processing for re-export is supported by a 100-percent tariff rebate, paid at the time of export.
Trade China is well underway with the implementation of its commitments agreed under the accession to the WTO, which started in 2001. Besides enhancing overall trade in terms of improvement in regulations, transportation and logistics, day-to-day administration etc, there are two notable benefits of the WTO agreement to seafood trade: reduction of tariffs and enhanced Soy Bean import to China, which can be used for feed
*China, 2005 statistics
Further information: For comments regarding the Glitnir Seafood Industry Reports or Glitnir's seafood sector activities and services, please contact:
Jiang Zhu, Director, Glitnir Representative Office China mobile phone +86 139 0161 1875; e-mail: jiang.zhu@glitnirbank.com
Bjørn Richard Johansen, Managing Director, Corporate Communications, Glitnir, mobile phone +47 47 800 100; e-mail: brj@glitnir.no
For photos: please contact akj@glitnir.no
About Glitnir Bank The financial group Glitnir offers retail, corporate and investment banking services. Glitnir is a leading niche player in three global industry segments: seafood/food, sustainable energy, and offshore service vessels. Glitnir operates in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the U.K., Luxembourg, Russia, Canada and China, and established a U.S. subsidiary, Glitnir Capital Corporation, in New York in 2007 to strengthen its presence in the Americas. Glitnir is listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange (GLB). For more information: www.glitnirbank.com
