From a global perspective, China is a large importer of fish and seafood, importing over CAD $4.1 billion in 2009, an increase of 3.5% from 2008.
However, its import values are dwarfed by countries with smaller populations such as the U.S., as China is able to supply much of its own demand. The country mainly imports its fish and seafood from Russia, with 32.7% of total imports, followed by the U.S. (15.0%), Norway (7.4%) and Japan (5.5%).
China’s main fish and seafood imports from all countries in 2009 included frozen fish with bones ($1.5B), frozen pacific salmon (excluding fillets) ($427.4M), frozen cod (excl. fillets), ($366.8M), cuttle fish and squid ($312.0M), frozen plaice (excl. fillets) ($170.5M), and frozen shrimp and prawns ($147.6M).
In 2009, China exported just over $11.5B in fish and seafood products worldwide, an increase of 6.5% from the previous year. Most of China’s exports came from fish fillets and other fish meat ($3.5B), crustaceans ($1.2B), and prepared or preserved fish ($1.2B). Top destinations included Japan (25.5%), the U.S. (20%) and South Korea (9.8%).
