September | October 2009

Feature title: China’s aquaculture industry – A snapshot

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The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

China "The key provinces of Zhejiang,
Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu,
China
Hubei and Fujian are responsible Industry
consolidation attempts to recapture fish,
for more than 30% of the shrimp Environmental after typhoon
regulations con-

China’s aquaculture industry industry, 40% of the fresh water Typhoon Morakot, that has caused

– A snapshot
tinue to increase
devastation throughout several parts
resulting in a
of asia, flooded several aquaculture
fish market and close to 60% of greater degree of
projects in Xiapu County of China
sophistication
The Typhoon that landed in Xiapu
the salt-water fish market and and C a p i t a l
County in southeast China's Fujian
by Michael Boddington , Boddington Consulting requirements
Province, destroyed houses and
approximately a third of the total such as water
swamped farmlands.
catchment, dam
Farmers are trying to recapture
commercial feed industry" construction and
fish that have been swept away from
pollution control
mudflat aquafarms.
are resulting in
Only a few hundred kilograms of
greater amounts
fish were saved from the area of
of fixed and
several hectares,

E
working capital
tonnes and in light of the economic crisis, from ‘non-aquaculture’ specialist feedmills. aquaculture industry, converting their excess According to the local flood-
very year China draws itself being required to produce aquaculture
availability of other cheaper proteins, pork Since 2007 and 2008, larger feedmills suffer- capacity to aquaculture feed production. control office, the county's aquacul-
to the attention of the products.
prices have fallen by 50 per cent since the ing from the down turn in the swine industry Total aquaculture feed production in ture industry suffered great losses of
world: the size of its market, China’s aquaculture feed industry is
highs of July 2008. In 2009 China’s Aquatic resulting in decreased tonnage have refo- 2008 was estimated at 13 million tonnes, approximately 61.2 million yuan (about
the increasing degree of characterised by larger domestic and inter-
production is forecast to reach to 49.5 mil- cused their efforts on entering the Chinese with compound feed representing 97% and nine million US dollars).
sophistication and the opportunities national manufacturers. China’s four largest
lion tonnes, an increase two concentrate feed and premix represented Several roads in the county had
that its domestic market presents. As feed manufacturers account for 44 percent
percent from 2008. one and two percent respectively. been cut off by rainstorms, and aproxi-
a result, China’s attractiveness draws of total production; two of these players are
Table 1: Attractiveness of aquaculture industry mately 2000 villagers in the county have
investors, marketers and, often, first new entrants.
Local consumption been evacuated to safety.
time movers that come ill prepared. Parameter Classification Comment Market size Table 2 below has identified commercial
Freshwater and salt- Even though the market is complicated feed value per segment.
The Aquaculture Industry in China is no water fish are consumed 48.6 million First largest and comprises a large number of small the improved performance through the use
The higher average price of the salt-water
different. It is large. locally; China has small metric tonnes aquaculture farmers, China’s aquaculture industry will of their feed and on small-scale farms this
fish feed results in this market offering
China is the largest producer of farmed export markets in compari- of aquaculture industry in the continue to grow due to: is often expensive and difficult to achieve
production world. moderate volumes and high total feed value.
seafood in the world, representing 57 per- son to the local consump-
Current size of China’s commercial aquaculture mar-
cent of global output and the consumption tion and has been troubled industry Growth Key provinces
Table 2: Estimated commercial feed ket involves a large number of feed
of aquaculture products increased sharply by residue and traceability forecast due to The key provinces of Zhejiang,
value of key market segments categories. Farmers tend to use com-
since 2007, but it is a very difficult market challenges during its his- Large industry increasing local Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hubei and
demand and mercial feed to nourish their products
to navigate. tory as a seafood exporter. Feed Value Fujian are responsible for more than 30% of
consumption Segment and on-farm treatments to assist in
Aquaculture is spread across the coun- In short, to be suc- (M$US) the shrimp industry, 40% of the fresh water
health issues.
try; the vast majority of its production is cessful in China’s aqua- fish market and close to 60% of the salt-
Commercial The commercial feed market’s largest water fish market and and approximately a
carried out by small farmers, although this culture industry your Pressure to use
feed sales and better feeds competitor is other fish and during the sur-
is changing, albeit slowly. The fragmentation products and services Shrimp >3,000 third of the total commercial feed indus-
farm size will and additives, vey we discovered that the largest shrimp
of the industry results in complicated route need to help the Chinese grow as industry tryThe systematic use of feed additives as
both due to cost Freshwater fish 3,500 - 4000 and fresh water farms purchased commer-
to market where suppliers must navigate aquaculture producer be increases in practiced in pig and poultry diets is yet to
and regulators, cial feed and the largest salt water farms
their way through an integrate maze of more efficient and sell Forecast growth sophistication increasing develop in China’s aquaculture industry.
and average Salt Water Fish 12,500 used ‘other’
dealers, agents and distributors to find the a better product to the rate number of
farm size. feed millers ingredients
end users. local Chinese consumer. Total >19,000
expanding such as fish for
In 2009, from our Beijing head office we If you are only interested Specialized & reliable supplier of feeds for larviculture and aquarium
capacity and feed indicating
researched China’s Aquaculture Industry, in being a niche player,
supplementing the data released by the with the reduce rewards,
Moderate
growth rate
decreasing price
and education. Local demand
that the home-
mix market is
Rotifer / Copepod / Brine Shrimp
government with first-hand research. Over
a six-month period we called and inter-
then those aquaculture
producers will be your
Chinese enjoy eating aquaculture pro-
duce and new species are received favour-
comprised of shell free Artemia & Polychaetes
China produces a large num-
viewed upwards of 500 members of China’s target, but remember that a large ably often substituting for imported species
China is also ber of smaller
aquaculture industry and have produced when Chinese exports percentage of that are sold at a higher price
targeting those farmers.
an update report that offers aquaculture are stopped either per- its requirements premium end Chinese GDP is forecast to grow at
special products It is impor-
players a clearer view of the market. manently or for a short Threat of imports products such as excess of seven percent in 2009, a good rate
are imported but tant to the
We found that China’s total aquaculture period so is your market! lobster, oyster, considering the global outlook and more
are not the basis freshwater fish success of any Tianjin Intra Technologies Co., Ltd - Room 519, 237 Hongqinan Road, Tianjin 300191, China
production continued to increase in the past China’s commercial feed of the industry. disposable income has result in more meals • Tel +86-22-23691856 • Fax +86-22-23660807 • Mobile +86-13820207810
and abalone feed supplier
three years. 2008 aquaculture production industry has recently expe- consumed outside of the home and great • Email: ceo@intra-feed.com
increased by three percent to 49.2 million rienced increased attention Low threat
variety of food choices
to be able to www.intra-feed.com
demonstrate

26 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | September-october 09 September-october 09 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 27

Tianjin Intra.indd 1 27/08/2009 12:12
 Fish feed that not only fish rave about. Buhler is the global technology partner for

China companies producing fish feed on a commercial scale. With good reason: From
raw material processing to extrusion and drying, only leading technologies are
Feed addi-
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tives are classed
as ingredients/
– mastering them with passion, combine these technologies into clever overall
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(fishmeal, fish-
meal replacers, floating and sinking feeds that not only fish rave about.
vitamins and
minerals), water www.buhlergroup.com/extrusion
treatments and
feed additives
(including probi-
otics, Methionine,
organic trace
m i n e r a l s ,
organic acids and
attractants).
The adoption
rate we esti-
mated for feed
additives to be
less than 25 percent of the market offering
Table 3: Overview of the competitive environment in China
opportunities for education, marketing and
Parameter Comment targeted key influencer researcher.
Table 3 highlights the competitive envi-
ronment in China and we believe that the
• Large number of products barriers to entry are high and although a
difficult market to enter and to generate
• Clear points of reference such as University Professors sales the size of the market and the poten-
Competitor rivalry
• Difficultly in efficacy proof and differentiation tial barriers that exist can through branding
and registration we recommend entry and
• High threat brand development.

• Large number of competitors

Regulatory environment
• Little product loyalty
The government has taken positive steps
Threats of substitutes to ensure that aquaculture products are
• Eagerness to switch to “fix” mortality or a problem seen and are clean and safe. New regula-
tions have increased monitoring and tighten
• High threat
controls on ingredients and environmental
• Large number of buyers pollutants. The result will be an increased
rate of modernisation, a better quality
• Large number of end users product and an industry that values the
Buyer power • New buyers/distributors have direct supplier/buyer with higher quality inputs in the future.
-----relationship barriers For further information on key provin-
• Buyer power is high
cial data, farmer needs and challenges and
feed additive volumes please feel free to
• Regulatory requirements from government are high contact us for information about the full
report.
• Access to reputable distributors and end users is difficult
Barriers to entry ----and the supply chain is unclear and not integrated
• Total commercial feed is a low percentage of total market For more inFormation:
Michael Boddington
• Barriers to entry are high
Boddington Consulting
Suite B209 Bai Jia Zhuang Commercial Centre
• Domestic and global demand growing
San Li Tun South Rd
Chaoyang District, 100020 CN
• Consolidation
Tel: +86 10 65919042
Market growth rate
• Growth of commercial feed sales Fax: +86 10 65919004
Email: michael@boddingtonconsulting.com
• Market growth rate is high Web: www.boddingtonconsulting.com
The solution behind the solution.
28 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | September-october 09
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