May 16, 2007
 

China's Shandong province accounts for one third of China's seafood exports
 

Shandong, the top seafood exporting province in China, exported 1 million tonnes of aquaculture products in 2006 worth US$ 3.4 billion last year, registering an on-year growth of 13 percent and 22.3 percent respectively.

The figures meant that the province accounted for more than a-third of total aquaculture products exported from China.

Seafood now accounts for more than 30 percent of the total value of food exports in the province.

About 40 percent of Shandong's seafood exports go to Japan, a quarter goes to the EU and a-fifth goes to the US.

Three in 10 companies in China which are allowed to export seafood products are based in Shandong.

Among the 787 companies in Shandong licensed for export, 239 of them were licensed to export to the US and 126 were licensed for the EU. The province also has companies licensed to export to South Korea, Vietnam and Brazil.

Shandong in recent years has implemented a system to track ingredient quality for seafood products at the production level. It also oversaw the production process of companies with huge volume exports through both on-site and residue monitoring. These processes have enabled food safety authorities to conduct risk analyses before allowing exports. The province also studied relevant laws of the importing country and standards to help companies avoid the pitfalls of exporting overseas. This has helped the province gain certification from more countries.