"Living by water" is the basic principle followed by human reproduction and survival and development. Fisheries play a huge role in ensuring global food security, supplying quality protein and promoting economic and social development. The latest statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that the annual per capita consumption of aquatic products in the world has exceeded 20 kilograms, providing nearly 17% of the total amount of animal protein for humans.
Exhibitors pay attention to the exhibits. Photo by Mega
From October 27th to 29th, the 25th China International Fisheries Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Fisheries Expo"), hosted by the Agricultural Industry Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (Agricultural Trade Promotion Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province, where more than 970 enterprises from 19 countries and regions including Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania gathered in this beautiful coastal city to display products, discuss cooperation and seek business opportunities.
Ma Youxiang, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, said that aquatic products are one of the most actively traded agricultural products in the world, providing consumers from all over the world with more varieties of food choices. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the development of the global economy and trade, the global supply chain of aquatic products is not smooth, and the global exchange of aquatic products is blocked. This year's Fisheries Expo is the first international large-scale exhibition held in the global aquatic industry since the new crown pneumonia epidemic, which will send a positive signal to the recovery of the global aquaculture industry and is of great significance to boosting industry confidence.
Multinational pavilions attach importance to the Chinese market
Thanks to the steady recovery of the market, Norwegian seafood exports to China in 2021 performed well. In the first nine months of this year, Norway exported a total of 137,000 tons of seafood to China, worth NOK 3.96 billion, with exports up about 51% year-on-year and exports about 40% year-on-year. Tong Evershed, Chinese mainland and Director of the Norwegian Seafood Board and Hong Kong, said: "This time, 3 companies from the Norwegian pavilion came to the scene, and 10 other companies participated in the exhibition online, and they all carefully prepared videos and materials to connect with the cutting-edge news of the Chinese market. ”
Su Liwen, director of the Irish Food Board's representative office in China, said that the total seafood trade between China and Ireland in the first half of this year increased by 171% compared with the same period last year, and the Chinese market is a very important market in Ireland. With the increase of high-end catering stores in China, the market demand and recognition of Irish seafood have gradually increased; the new retail platform represented by Hema Fresh provides more display opportunities for Ireland's live products; the maturity of cold chain technology and the improvement of logistics facilities will boost Irish seafood into a broader market.
A corner of the exhibition area of the 25th China International Fisheries Expo. Photo by Mega
Chile has been participating in this fishery industry event for more than 10 years, and a total of 6 Chilean companies have participated in the exhibition in the form of online forms, the main products of which are king crab, Chilean sea bass, South American sharp-tailed cod, Chilean mussels, Atlantic salmon and so on. Nata, Commercial Counsellor of the Chilean Embassy in China, said, "Chile has a vast coastline of 4,300 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, and its unique natural conditions make Chile's marine ecosystem diverse, and salmon production accounts for more than 30% of the world's total production. ”
Atlantic Canada, in conjunction with federal and provincial governments and fisheries industry associations, organized the Canadian Seafood Summit Forum during the Games Fair. A number of export enterprises in British Columbia provide comprehensive product trade opportunities for professional buyers of Chinese seafood to share, analyze and display products, and also provide opportunities for Channel Partners such as importers, distributors and retailers in China to focus on docking all Canadian seafood.
In addition, this year's Fishery Expo launched the "Global Fishery Merchants Club" for the first time, building a digital and intelligent fishery B2B business platform for exhibitors to meet the needs of enterprises online and offline dual-platform business exchanges. "In my opinion, the biggest advantage of this exhibition is that it is held online and offline, and the online exhibition provides more opportunities and space for foreign manufacturers who cannot attend to talk to Chinese importers." Berbilan, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Commercial Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Peru in China, said.
Aquatic products enterprises to build international brands
At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs identified the first batch of 115 high-quality agricultural international trade development bases (hereinafter referred to as "international trade bases") nationwide, aiming to further enhance the strength of China's export agricultural enterprises and enhance the international competitiveness of China's agricultural products. A number of aquatic enterprises identified as international trade bases met in Qingdao this time to understand the international market situation and expand international market channels with the help of the fishing expo platform.
Guangxi Jinhaiying Food Co., Ltd., which has participated in 14 consecutive fisheries fairs, mainly exports spotted forktail catfish, tilapia and golden pomfret, and has many certifications such as the world's best aquaculture specifications of 4 stars. Zheng Xinxiu, marketing director of the company's marketing center, said: "The export volume of our catfish products to the United States ranks among the top three in the industry, and American importers, wholesalers and retailers are very recognized by JinHaiying's products, especially in terms of product quality and food safety. ”
Zhejiang Dayang Shijia Co., Ltd. takes distant-water fisheries as the core, integrates aquatic products processing, import and export trade, domestic sales in one, has its own fleet, operates in the Pacific and Indian Ocean waters all year round, and catches more than 60,000 tons of various types of tuna and squid every year. Chen Fangyu, manager of the company's commodity department, said: "Our advantage is a stable upstream self-fishing source and mature factory processing, and the comprehensive processing park invested in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, the first phase of 280 mu will be put into operation in 2023, which is one of the largest processing bases in Asia." ”
"We mainly rely on 'two fish' to gain a foothold in the international market, one is large yellow croaker and the other is roasted eel. At present, our 'two fish' have been exported to more than 20 countries and regions around the world, so that the world can truly understand our specialty yellow croaker in Ningde, Fujian Province, and the first fragrant eel in Ningde. Cai Haiying, manager of the international trade department of Ningde Jinsheng Aquatic Products Co., Ltd., said.
Penglai Huiyang Food Co., Ltd. was originally a foreign trade-based enterprise, since 2008 to open up the domestic market, foreign trade accumulated rich experience for the development of the domestic market to lay a good foundation, quality assurance to increase consumer confidence, its Jinglu Ocean brand products in the domestic circulation channels, well-known chain catering, supermarket convenience stores and e-commerce networks have been fully rolled out. Zhang Shiguang, executive vice president of the company, said: "The Japanese customers we are currently cooperating with are relatively large trading companies and specialized enterprises in the aquatic industry, and some have maintained stable cooperative relations for up to 20 years since the establishment of factories; the annual output of self-caught saury accounts for about 1/3 of the Chinese mainland, mainly exported to Russia." ”
"As one of the earliest enterprises in China to export aquatic products, The Fishery Fair is an exhibition that must be attended every year." For Hua Haiyan, director of the International Trade Center of Guangdong Hengxing Aquatic Food Sales Co., Ltd., the Fishing Expo is not only a display platform, but also a place to meet. She mentioned that "the company has attached importance to upstream resources for 30 years, and has formed a whole industrial chain layout of 'six fish and two shrimp', which has a significant advantage in global trade under the background of the new crown pneumonia epidemic." In the future, we will further expand the sales of main products, strengthen product research and development and brand building, deeply promote pre-made dishes and snack foods with 'Hengxing Food' as the main brand, strengthen the deep ploughing of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other markets, and carry out multi-channel layout around deep-processed products. ”
Experts and scholars discuss fishery development
During the Fisheries Expo, a series of activities such as the 2021 Global Fisheries Sustainable Development Forum, the Fourth International Forum on Aquaculture in the Silk Road Countries, the China Aquatic Products Export Promotion Conference, and the Special Training on the High-quality Development of Aquatic Products International Trade were held at the same time, and the participants offered suggestions and suggestions on promoting the sustainable development of global fisheries and ensuring global food safety, and launched a fishery trade dialogue.
"By applying high and new technologies under the concept of digital systems and sustainable development, fisheries can produce not only animal protein, but also functional foods, medicines, necessities, daily necessities, fibers, fuels and other raw materials. I'm pretty sure that fishing can help humans produce almost every commodity they need. "In order to promote the development of the world's fisheries on a sustainable basis and open up the sharing of resources, we must unite and cooperate to involve all sectors of society, such as governments, the private sector, the administration and associations." ”
Shandong Province is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River on the eastern coast, with a land area almost equal to the sea area, and has 1/6 of China's coastline. Zhang Jijun, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong Provincial Government, said: "In recent years, the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have attached great importance to the development of fisheries, based on the concept of large grain, vigorously implemented the construction of maritime granaries, and promoted the high-quality development of fisheries and achieved remarkable results. Focus on the green development of the aquaculture industry, optimize and expand the breeding space, and strengthen the protection of fishery germplasm resources. Promote the transformation and upgrading of distant-water fisheries, implement the strategy of fisheries going out, reduce the intensity of offshore fishing, explore new distant-sea aquaculture, and expand distant-water fishing. The province has 43 distant-water fishing enterprises and 540 distant-water fishing vessels, and last year achieved a distant-water fishing output of 385,000 tons and an output value of 5.55 billion yuan. ”
"In 2020, China's total output of aquatic products was 65.49 million tons, ranking first in the world for 32 consecutive years. The development of Fisheries in China and the continued growth of total aquatic products have benefited from the progress of the aquaculture industry. In 2020, China's aquaculture production was 52.24 million tons, accounting for 70% of the total aquaculture of aquatic products in the world. Guan Changtao, chief scientist of the national marine fish industry technology system, is deeply proud of the achievements and progress of China's aquaculture industry, and proposes to benchmark the overall goals and tasks of sustainable development of global fisheries and the green and high-quality development of China's agriculture, take industrial demand as the guide, strengthen the cutting-edge foundation and technological innovation, develop and promote new technologies, new facilities and new models, and promote the accelerated transformation and upgrading of fisheries.
Zhang Zhongjun, Assistant Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in China, said the booming fisheries and aquaculture industry provides a favorable opportunity to support global food security and food transformation. As an agricultural specialized agency within the United Nations system, FAO stands ready to work with governments, fisheries agencies and many other partners to shape the path of sustainable development of global fisheries.
Source: Farmer Daily, China Rural Network
Reporter: Gong Yukun