Coronavirus hits sustainable aquaculture

Tilapia are now mature enough to process in China, but Covid-19 has delayed orders from major importing nations.

The damage to China’s aquaculture sector caused by coronavirus could be far-reaching as customers from the US and elsewhere hold off on orders. Companies that specialise in sustainable aquaculture products look to be especially affected because they rely most on exports.

Two major industry events have already been postponed: Seafood Expo North America, the largest such exhibition in the continent, was due to take place in Boston mid-March, and Seafood Expo Global was planned for Brussels in April.

The damage to China’s aquaculture sector caused by coronavirus could be far-reaching as customers from the US and elsewhere hold off on orders. Companies that specialise in sustainable aquaculture products look to be especially affected because they rely most on exports.

Two major industry events have already been postponed: Seafood Expo North America, the largest such exhibition in the continent, was due to take place in Boston mid-March, and Seafood Expo Global was planned for Brussels in April.

“Every year we get 40-50 per cent of our orders confirmed at that [first] exhibition,” Chen Sheng, general manager of the Maoming Evergreen Aquatic Product Co. Ltd. told China Dialogue. In 2019, almost 200 Chinese firms had a presence there, including all the major ones. He says that maintaining relationships and negotiating with customers has shifted online.

The delay may offer China’s producers temporary relief from questions about safety and supply stability from over-anxious international buyers. But problems remain for producers of aquatic products such as tilapia – a freshwater fish originally from Africa – who rely heavily on overseas markets.

Export problems

With transportation cut off in China, public spaces closed and people forced to stay at home to contain the virus, there have been fewer domestic buyers for aquatic products and almost nobody eating at restaurants. By 11 March, a month and a half after the Wuhan lockdown, a survey of 55 major markets in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou showed aquatic sales had recovered to just about half of normal levels.

The effects quickly trickled down from retailers to hatcheries, farms and processors – and eventually, as the coronavirus spread overseas, exporters.

Japan, Korea, the EU and the US have been the main destinations for China’s aquatic exports for over a decade. “Currently, all exports to Korea are on hold, and exports to Japan, the EU and the US have fallen”, said Cui He, head of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, in a 9 March article. China’s seafood exports are, he said “facing their biggest ever test”. One example of the gravity of the situation is Chinese tilapia, half of which is usually exported.