Industry insiders upbeat about seafood trade between US, China despite multiple uncertainties

NEW YORK - American and Chinese Seafood industry players have expressed optimism about expanding business in each other's country despite uncertainties from multiple fronts.

Nearly 60 companies from China participated in the 2024 Seafood Expo North America from Sunday to Tuesday.

The prospects of the US market are promising and "we're confident in the US market," said Danny Deng, vice-president of Zhanjiang Manxian Attain Seafood Co Ltd.

Speaking at his booth on the exposition, Deng said his firm has focused on South America and this is the first time to present products on the trade show in Boston.

China has full-fledged industry chains for tilapia, and tuna and other aquatic products that are a kind of necessity in people's daily life, Deng said, adding that quite a number of potential customers visited his booth with clear business purposes.

"I believe follow-up cooperation will be materialized," he said.

Deng said his company would take a step-by-step manner in opening up the US market and would offer the best-quality products to customers here.

China is such a significant part of the export market and "it's really critical," said Allison Melvin, who is responsible for marketing of Maine-based Greenhead Lobster LLC.

Lobster exports to China stopped for a while following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now everything is recovering and getting back to where it was, said Melvin.

Lobster exports to China seem to be going well and the company always looks forward to expanding business to China and other places as well, he added.

China imported 373,100 tons of aquatic products from the United States in 2023, up 12.13 percent year-on-year, according to data provided by China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA).

Meanwhile, China exported 354,900 tons of aquatic products to the United States last year, down 13.93 percent year-on-year.

China's imports of aquatic products from the United States still fell short of over 500,000 tons in 2018, said Cui He, chairman of CAPPMA.

Industry insiders noted the adverse impacts from ongoing tariffs, persistent inflation, slowdown in economic growth, US sanctions against Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as well as difficulties to obtain business visas.

Cui said tariffs imposed on trade of aquatic products between the United States and China during the height of bilateral trade tensions remain unchanged.

China and the United States have been each other's important trade partners in aquatic products for many years, and Chinese imports in this regard saw significant growth in the last few years, Cui said.