China seafood prices set firm or rising

After spiking during the first part of 2017, China’s domestic seafood price index looks set to remain stable or rise slightly towards the end of the year, said Le Hang, deputy director of the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors’ training and trade promotion center.

By May 2017 the index was up 22% year-on-year, at the highest level on record.

That month saw average prices of CNY 22.25 per kilogram ($3.27/kg). Average prices of crustaceans were up 22% y-o-y; mollusks were up 45%; and freshwater fish up 13%.

So far in 2017 the volumes of crustaceans and mollusks traded are up significantly, while those of cheaper freshwater fish are down.

Prices for other proteins are either stable or falling, noted Hang, showing the price inflation seems to be specific to seafood.These high prices for domestic seafood has meant a steep rise in imports; fishing bans and a drop in aquaculture production have meant lower domestic supply.

Between January and April 2017 China imported 1.53 million metric tons of seafood, up 22% y-o-y. This was worth $3.28 billion, up 17%.

The forecast is for this import value to reach $8bn by the end of the year, said Hang — and $20bn by 2020. Among the beneficiaries are suppliers of Argentine shrimp; New Zealand and Australian lobster; and Vietnamese pangasius.