May 15, 2014 — China’s seafood processors are nailing down markets in an ever-prosperous Southeast Asia, new figures show. Data from the processing hub of Ningbo for the first four months of this year shows strong growth in shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.
Shipments of 7,103 metric tons (MT) in the first four months of this year valued at USD 40.3 million (EUR 29.4 million) represents an increase in volume of 42.5 percent. Notably, value per MT at USD 5,651 (EUR 4,121) is up 44.1 percent year-on-year. “It’s a new point of growth for Ningbo…we have to further develop our products to grasp this golden opportunity and seize the ASEAN market,” said a statement provided to Seafoodsource from the Ningbo office of the general Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) which oversees export standards and advises Chinese firms on improving the standards of export products.
A ten-country bloc of 600 million people, ASEAN now accounts for 20.4 percent of total Ningbo seafood exports, worth USD 197.4 million (EUR 144 million) in the first four months. Broken into categories, the big export item to ASEAN is frozen fish fillets. In the first four months of 2014 Ningbo firms shipped USD 23.4 million (EUR 17.1 million), some 58.9 percent of the city’s overall seafood shipments to ASEAN. But there’s also a market for frozen sea cucumbers — 353 MT worth USD 15.05 million (EUR 10.97) were shipped in the first four months of the year according to AQSIQ.
At a time of heightened tension with its Southeast Asian neighbors — especially the Philippines and Vietnam — over sea and drilling rights, China seems to be winning on price but also benefits from low tariff access thanks to the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which went into full effect on 1 January 2010.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com