China loses appetite for salmon, seafood on virus contamination worries

[snoop1130]

China loses appetite for salmon, seafood on virus contamination worries

By Sophie Yu and Emily Chow

 

 

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's appetite for salmon and other seafood has crashed this month, after a resurgence in coronavirus infections in Beijing was traced to chopping boards for imported salmon in a wholesale food market in the capital.

 

Exporters all the way to Europe are feeling the pinch as the virus scare prompts supermarkets and e-commerce players such as Taobao, JD.com and Meituan in China, the world's top consumer of frozen and fresh seafood, to slash salmon sales.

 

"I have cleaned out frozen fish from the refrigerator at home and won't buy more," said Ma Xuan, a government employee.

 

"I will wait till the origin of this new wave of virus is clear," the 40-year-old said. "Maybe I overreacted, but who knows? I don't want to risk the health of my family."

 

Alibaba's <BABA.N> Taobao and JD.com <9618.HK> <JD.O> have cut imported salmon sales in Beijing, Reuters checks show, while food delivery giant Meituan Dianping <3690.HK> said it has pulled all salmon products from its platform nationally.

 

Meituan Grocery said it had stepped up examination of raw and fresh products, adding searches for Japanese cuisine and seafood on the Meituan app had plummeted across China since June 12, a day after the recent Beijing market outbreak started.

 

Ele.me, Alibaba's food delivery arm, has also halted sales of all imported seafood in Beijing.

 

JD.com and Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Panic about the virus has extended to other farm products like beef and mutton, forcing some grocers to pull them from shelves.

 

China's soybean buyers have asked exporters to guarantee their cargoes are not contaminated, while overseas meat and fruit suppliers said China's customs had asked them to sign declarations ensuring the safety of their shipments.

 

'HOPE IS LIKE A SOAP BUBBLE'

 

Sushi and hotpot restaurants in Beijing that saw business pick up after virus-related curbs were eased in April are once again struggling amid the renewed worries.

 

Barron Qin, owner of a fish hotpot restaurant called Yufu Yuzai, said customers had been lining up everyday but now the restaurant was half empty despite not serving salmon.

 

"My hope is like a soap bubble, burst by the new round of the outbreak," he said.

 

More than 250 people have been infected in Beijing in the past two weeks, the city's worst outbreak since the virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.

 

"Seafood consumption in June will collapse due to public panic that seafood may be the culprit for the second wave of virus," said Dan Wang, an Economist Intelligence Unit analyst.

 

She expects China's seafood imports to drop 3% this year.

 

China imported 4.44 million tonnes of seafood last year, worth 106 billion yuan ($15 billion), from suppliers including Russia, Peru and Vietnam, customs data shows.

 

Graphic: China seafood imports - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/qzjpqekmkpx/China seafood imports 2016-2020.JPG

 

Norway's Bravo Seafood said its exports to China initially looked promising, but the Beijing cases had changed everything despite Chinese and Norwegian authorities concluding salmon from Norway was not the source of the coronavirus.

 

"We have not even sent one piece of salmon to China since June 13," Bravo's Asia sales director Chen Qiao said.

 

"No one dares to buy salmon now no matter the origin. We expect minimal sales to China in the next one to two months."

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-24

 

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[Mavideol]

no problem, back to Mao's time, one bowl of rice a day and for the lucky ones some veggies

[Logosone]

China's own CDC said the salmon was not the cause. Obviously it was filthy conditions at the market.

 

So some filthy Chinese got his snot over a chopping board and some social media fool ruined the marvellous Norwegian salmon industry by implying that Norwegian Salmon (!) was to blame.

 

 

[CLS]

Put all the blame on the salmon. BTW is bat soup still on the menu?

On the upside salmon might become cheaper in the next days.

 

[YetAnother]

35 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

China's appetite for salmon and other seafood has crashed this month

great news, salmon prices here should drop by quite a bit

[dundee48]

Bats,cats,dogs and monkeys still ok though.

[ExpatOilWorker]

23 minutes ago, CLS said:

Put all the blame on the salmon. BTW is bat soup still on the menu?

On the upside salmon might become cheaper in the next days.

 

Frozen Norwegian salmon use to be 320 baht/kg in Bangkok.

Anyone found it cheaper yet?

[Bkk Brian]

Good, the salmon are jumping for joy, you Chinese fools ????

 

[Geoffggi]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's appetite for salmon and other seafood has crashed this month, after a resurgence in coronavirus infections in Beijing was traced to chopping boards for imported salmon in a wholesale food market in the capital.

Good news for the restaurants, shrimps can go back on the menu ....................LOL 

[Isaan sailor]

Now, if we can just convince the Chinese to avoid virus-laden durian...

[Mavideol]

18 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Frozen Norwegian salmon use to be 320 baht/kg in Bangkok.

Anyone found it cheaper yet?

magic word ""used to"" unfortunately now Makro is listed at 639 to 679 baht/kg (high way robbery)... high supply low demand prices should be dropping, but here it's the inverse

[nauseus]

18 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Frozen Norwegian salmon use to be 320 baht/kg in Bangkok.

Anyone found it cheaper yet?

Noop.

[nauseus]

18 hours ago, Logosone said:

China's own CDC said the salmon was not the cause. Obviously it was filthy conditions at the market.

 

So some filthy Chinese got his snot over a chopping board and some social media fool ruined the marvellous Norwegian salmon industry by implying that Norwegian Salmon (!) was to blame.

 

 

What a beautiful description! 

[grumpy 4680]

          China refuses to accept its own filthy foods, so it blames imports.  Just proves how brainwashed the Chinese are, to believe their lie ridden Communist Masters.

[Isaan sailor]

I think the Chinese would prefer bat soup to Norwegian salmon.  And that's fine with me. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

On 6/25/2020 at 12:43 PM, Mavideol said:

magic word ""used to"" unfortunately now Makro is listed at 639 to 679 baht/kg (high way robbery)... high supply low demand prices should be dropping, but here it's the inverse

210 baht/kg for Chilean salmon.

215 baht/kg for Norwegian salmon.

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by ExpatOilWorker