China reaffirmed its goal of further opening up its seafood sector to overseas companies as part of the government's pledge of allowing foreign brands more access to the massive Chinese market.
According to Xinhua, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yu Kangzhen, pledged that China will continue to "create opportunities for win-win cooperation" in the seafood sector.
Yu said during Wednesday's opening of the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo (CFSE) in Shandong Province that the increase in Chinese seafood imports this year is an indication of how the country wants to pursue further trade with high-quality providers.
Among the aspects of the seafood sector that China committed to promoting are the exchange of capital, knowledge, experience, and technology. Yu noted that the drive-in increased seafood cooperation was driven by increased demand in the country.
While the country already saw an increase in importing seafood products in 2018, reaching 5.2 million tons, the first eight months of 2019 saw a further hike in demand, hitting over 24 percent year-on-year.
China is committed to increasing its seafood imports in the coming year but Yu clarified that the country will keep demanding "high-quality" products that will help supply-demand in the market.
The CFSE is one of the government's ways through which it has shown interest in cooperating with providers of high-quality seafood products. In this year's expo, around 1,600 companies from 53 countries joined the conference.
Indeed, China's pledge of importing more seafood goods was exemplified during the third quarter as it was revealed in the latest data that the country imported $3.86 billion worth of products.
If the computation includes meat and dairy products, the Chinese market imported exceeded $10 billion worth of imports during Q3 2019. The impressing numbers are unusual for a single quarter in terms of one country's imports.
China's increasing demand in kinds of seafood and imported meat has been attributed to the country's ensuing struggles with African swine fever (ASF). More citizens are leaning on seafood and imported meat as the country's supply has been on a decline.
Among the countries that have been benefiting largely from China's seafood demand in India. For the January to August period, India's exports to the country hit $800 million, marking one of the highest records in Indian marine exports.
Industry experts are expecting the figures to increase further under the initiative of the Chinese government, the Indian embassy, and the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
India's delegation to the CSFE included over 40 local exporters who seek further cooperation with Chinese buyers, especially now that the two countries have pledged to seek projects that will benefit both sides equally.
Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Indian Embassy, Prashant Lokhande, noted that bilateral ties between China and India are recognized among the most "mature" relations in global trade.
