For the entire Chinese imported frozen seafood industry in 2020, it cannot be easy. The frozen seafood industry has been stuck all the way, starting from the salmon case at the beginning of 2020. China’s import frozen seafood industry was declining! In 2020, consumers were so over-sensitive when they talk about “imports frozen seafood”!
At the beginning of 2020, due to the impact of the epidemic, China’s imports of marine products were very sluggish in January and February, and the entire industry, including vannamei shrimp and salmon imports, significantly reduced. The salmon market has dropped to a freezing point, the whole catering industry has closed down, and the traditional peak sales season has all at once returned to zero. In the first quarter, the epidemic prevention and control began to take effect, and the catering industry began to recover slowly. The traditional imported frozen seafood industry almost relies on the catering industry. Just when the light was about to come, bad news came.
Salmon
In June 2020, the Beijing Xinfadi incident hit the salmon industry again. Imported cold chain products in Dalian, Qingdao, and other places also tested positive from the seafood products’ outer packaging. The entire Chinese supermarkets completely removed frozen salmon, and the salmon industry almost stopped.
Vannamei
For the vannamei shrimp market in June, the market was very active before. Affected by the epidemic, the U.S. imports fell sharply at this stage, causing vannamei shrimp stock to exceed the standard. The price of vannamei shrimp plummeted before June. Many importers are preparing to buy from the bottom price level. The vannamei shrimp market can be said to be quite active. Just when everyone was optimistic about the market, the bad news came again. The outer packaging of imported vannamei shrimp from Ecuador tested positive, and many vannamei shrimp factories were banned from import by customs. Imports of vannamei shrimp from Ecuador plummeted 49% in June, and prices fell to their lowest in the last ten years. Importers were caught up all at once, and vannamei shrimps were on a large scale, but the sales market was still cold.
Ribbon fish
In September 2020, the outer packaging of frozen ribbon fish from Indonesia tested positive again, and the hairtail market was also in depression.
Strict Nucleic acid testing
In the second half of 2020, China Customs conducted rigorous epidemic prevention and control testing for frozen aquatic products. The comprehensive nucleic acid testing requirements for frozen marine cold storage and factories is a must. Because of the nucleic acid testing, the delivery time has also significantly longer than before. In that case, some containers stayed at the border for nearly two months.
In the second half of 2020, frozen seafood markets and cold storage in many places closed for pandemic inspection. The sales number reduced to almost 15% as before! Many frozen seafood traders in China even have financial problems. Unfortunately, They don’t have enough cash flow to pick up the containers at the port! The frozen seafood market, usually with people coming and going, was almost empty in 2020.
Hope or Nope?
In early 2021, there were new Covid cases in China, and the frozen food industry suddenly entered another severe winter. 2020 is a challenging year for the seafood industry. Now 2021 starts in this way. It’s hard to know where the dawn of the marine industry is? Where is the light at the corner of the Chinese domestic import market?
Hope! China starts the New Vaccine program
Good news! China started the vaccine injection last month for all the citizens. The whole process may last for two months. After that, the strict policy may release, the frozen seafood in China may recover at the end of April.
