China is a global seafood superpower. It is the largest consumer, importer, exporter and producer of seafood in the world, representing approximately 37% of total global production. China is also the largest producer of aquaculture products in the world, accounting for over 60% of world cultured seafood production, China is the only country where farmed fish production exceeds wild catch.

China’s seafood imports reached USD 15.44 billion in 2019, a greater than 30 percent increase over 2018 due to rising meat prices, strong domestic demand, and continued value-added processing for the export market.

According to the USDA, China continued to be the world’s leading seafood producer in 2019, with production at 64.5 million metric tons. Aquaculture production remained at 50.5 MMT, while wild catch fell to 14.0 MMT, a 5% decrease compared to 2018.

Best import prospects include frozen fish (salmon, flatfish, and cod), shrimp as well as high-value live seafood. In the last decade the country’s seafood consumption has increased by almost 50 percent, fueling 65 percent of the growth in global seafood consumption, and in the next decade China is expected to account for more than half the world’s seafood consumption increase.

Due to the large amount of seafood processed for re-export, some industry figures even point to a consumption as high as 50kg per capita. The Chinese consumer has a voracious appetite for seafood of all kinds, including live, frozen and further processed products. Consumption is rising in line with increasing purchasing power and a strong preference for seafood among Chinese consumers. Live freshwater fish leads demand in inland city markets, while frozen and processed products are more common in the north. Live ocean catch is popular with opulent east coast Chinese.