August 25, 2017

Guolian's deputy GM to leave as aqua feed division suffers falling sales

Zhangjiang Guolian Aquatic Products, which saw a drop in its aqua feed sales, will see the departure of its head of feed, according to a report this month.

Zheng  Zhang, who is also Guolian's deputy general manager, has decided to leave the company due to "personal reasons", a company filing at the Shenzhen stock exchange revealed.

He joined Guolian in 2006 and had served as general manager for the aqua feed subsidiary, Zhangjiang Guolian Feed Technology since 2008.

Zhanjiang Guolian is China's biggest shrimp company and a major tilapia producer. Last year, its feed sales plunged 10% year-on-year to CNY235 million (US$34.9 million), with its aqua feed unit being the sole division to witness falling sales revenues.

Overall sales, taking into account all Guolian's divisions, are otherwise upbeat; numbers rose 26.6% year-on-year to CNY2.62 billion (US$393 million) with support from better shrimp sales, both locally and internationally.   

Guolian blamed the dip in aqua feed sales to "excess capacity, product homogeneity, low profit margins, high market concentration and increased competition" in the Chinese aqua feed sector, according to the company's 2016 annual report.