Prices soar as China’s air freight restrictions cut salmon supply.
According to Undercurrent News, China’s main air freight hubs for salmon, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have suspended seafood imports to the country. This news comes as on Friday, the latest figures confirmed the current coronavirus outbreak in the country as the worst since the start of the pandemic a year and a half ago
The new import restrictions have led to shortages, pushing wholesale prices of imported salmon up to CNY 140 ($21.60) per kilogram in China. Meanwhile, many supermarkets are reporting that salmon is out of stock, while a number of processing plants have already suspended operations amid a shortage of raw materials.
Dennis Cai, Chief Operating Officer of Shanghai-based Chuner Group, told Undercurrent that China Eastern Airlines had banned all international flights to Shanghai from importing frozen and chilled goods, including seafood, for two weeks starting on Monday earlier this week (Aug 2).
Cai said only a few foreign airlines are still able to import salmon, resulting in the import capacity for salmon dropping to one-third of the normal level.
It also reported that Shanghai Pudong International Airport has suspended all handling of frozen and chilled goods imported from Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the Americas, and all goods imported from Bangkok and India.
