Crab Prices Are Affordable This Year, Creative Marketing Tactics Emerge One After Another

Autumn is crisp and clear, crabs are fat and chrysanthemums are yellow, and enjoying crabs keeps everyone busy. This year, affected by the broader environment, high-end restaurants are transforming and the trend of giving gifts has weakened; the rise of crab farming and increased crab production in many places have led to the first price drop in nearly 10 years, as crabs have gone from being seen as "aristocrats" by ordinary consumers to appearing in everyday restaurants and on ordinary family dining tables. To increase sales, various crab-producing areas have come up with many marketing ideas, such as crab fishing and crab tasting, so food lovers can eat to their heart's content while farmers' wallets get fuller. -- Editor

Authentic rice-field crabs, caught by yourself and eaten by yourself--

Gaoqing: Farmhouse crab-fishing contests build the brand

In the golden autumn season, rice paddies are fragrant and river crabs are at their fattest. Entering the ten-thousand-mu rice-field base in Gaoqing County, Shandong Province, everything is golden. In the crab ditches, rice farmers are using cage nets to catch river crabs, and tourists in twos and threes are also fishing for crabs with hooks. "Authentic rice-field crabs, caught by yourself and eaten by yourself," said Wang Huarong, a tourist from Zhangdian District. At night they dine at the farmhouse in the village, eating the rice-field crabs they caught themselves.

This year, Gaoqing County tested and promoted more than 2,000 mu of "raising crabs in rice fields." "The original purpose of raising river crabs in rice fields was to use the crabs to test the quality of the rice," said Liu Deyong, manager of Shuoguo Rice Cooperative. In 2008, Gaoqing rice received national geographical indication trademark certification. To improve the quality of Gaoqing rice and build an organic brand, the county tried releasing river crabs into rice fields. "Starting in 2012, we experimented with raising rice-field crabs and tried several varieties. In the end, we selected Chinese mitten crab," Liu Deyong said. The Yellow River estuary river crab is characterized by pure breed, fast growth, large individual size, fresh and delicious meat, and delicate yet elastic texture, and its appearance, quality and specifications can all rival the large crabs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in China. River crabs are very sensitive to pesticides, so when crab seedlings are released into rice fields, anyone who knows the trade can tell at a glance that the rice has not been sprayed with chemicals. Crab farmers bring in the river crabs and put them in water to adapt for a period. Around April 20, rice is transplanted, and when the rice grows to knee height, crab seedlings are released.

"River crabs eat insects in the rice fields and do not need feed, and their droppings can serve as fertilizer for the rice. In addition, the movement of the river crabs can help loosen the soil in the rice fields. The rice is green, and the river crabs are wild. Both above and below the water bring in money," Liu Deyong said. Now the crabs have "stolen the show," with returns even higher than rice. Judging from the harvest of rice and crabs, the crabs average 2.5 to 3 liang each, with the large ones reaching 4 liang, much larger than last year. The yield of adult crabs per mu can reach 75 jin, and the market price is 50 yuan per jin, giving a net crab output value of 3,750 yuan per mu; organic rice yields 1,100 jin per mu, and at 3 yuan per jin, the rice output value reaches 3,300 yuan per mu, with rice and crabs together reaching 7,050 yuan per mu. Calculated separately, the returns from crabs are higher than those from rice. The benefit of double harvest from one water area has doubled compared with planting rice alone.

Every year, the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month and the National Day holiday on October 1 are the best seasons for catching crabs. At this time, the rice is fragrant and the crabs are fat, with excellent color, aroma and taste. Residents from surrounding areas drive to Gaoqing to compete to buy the rice here. Since last year, when Mr. Liu comes to buy rice, he also brings back several jin of crabs from the rice fields. "The rice here is of good quality and excellent in color, aroma and taste; the crabs are fat and large, and when eaten they still have a faint fragrance of rice."

Because of the special geographical environment and soil, the rice produced in Gaoqing County is solid in texture, silvery white and translucent, with thick and transparent soup, sweet and palatable, chewy and worth savoring. Branded Gaoqing rice has long been sold across the country. Shuoguo Cooperative currently owns several brands including "Dalu Lake Rice." In the cooperative's product exhibition hall, the rice packaging boxes are printed with "crab-field rice," while the crab packaging boxes are printed with "rice-field crab." The once obscure rice-field crabs have gradually built their own brand by borrowing the reputation of a famous name.

"When we started experimenting with raising crabs in rice fields, we had already made plans to build a brand for the crabs. From our experience selling rice over these years, without a brand you cannot move a single step. Through crab-fishing contests, farmhouse-driven promotion and other forms, we are making the rice-field crab brand known," Liu Deyong said. This National Day holiday on October 1, the first crab-fishing contest of "Yellow River Family" in Suoyifan Village officially opened, and more than 3,000 tourists from Zibo, Binzhou, Dongying, Qingdao and other places participated in that day's contest. Mr. Zhang, beaming with joy, said: "I often fish for fish and shrimp, but this is my first time fishing for crabs. While enjoying the golden sea of rice and quietly fishing, it is very pleasant." The crabs caught by fishing are processed for free, at 100 yuan per kilogram, and you can add a free-range chicken, with vegetables all from nearby vegetable plots. This participatory farmhouse experience is very popular with surrounding residents, and everyone likes to come here to taste fat crabs and sweet rice.

"Next year we will continue to expand the area for raising rice-field crabs and build the crabs produced in the base into the same kind of brand as our rice, so that our rice-field crabs can walk sideways in the market," Liu Deyong said, full of confidence in the future.

Modern agriculture and rural tourism resources fully integrated--

Chongming: Tasting crabs leads to a local food festival

A crab-farming base with an area of only 2,000 mu, because it holds a gold-award crab called "Chong'ao Brand," held its first "Chong'ao" Brand Hairy Crab Opening Festival just last year, and this year instead of quietly folding up the banners, it grandly launched the "2014 Chong'ao Clearwater Hairy Crab Food Festival." During the three months of crab harvest, besides focusing on crab tasting, it also fully integrated the modern agriculture and rural tourism resources of the area where this crab is produced. It can truly be said that "one crab revitalized an outlying rural area for an entire season."

What kind of crab is this? Recently, the reporter went to the northwestern end of Chongming County, Shanghai Ecological Island, where Yuejin Farm is located, the farthest from the urban area, to personally experience how one crab can revitalize such a remote place. "I never expected an agricultural product brand to have such a big influence."

Starting from the city center, the whole journey was smooth, and it still took a full 3 hours by car to reach "Yangtze River Crab Manor." Because the Chong'ao Clearwater Hairy Crab Food Festival had just opened, the crab manor was busy with people and vehicles, and crisp autumn air, fat crabs, yellow chrysanthemums and busy crab tasting had become the best portrayal of this moment and place. "One crab has attracted so many city residents to come to a remote place. I never expected an agricultural product brand to have such a big influence," said Li Youqing, general manager of Shanghai Guangming Special Aquatic Products Co., Ltd.

Shanghai people are famous for loving crabs, and their particularity in eating crabs is also well known. These residents traveled so far to come here just for a clearwater hairy crab called "Chong'ao Brand." Li Youqing introduced that "Chong'ao Brand" is the most famous enterprise brand within Chongming County. As a major brand under Shanghai Yangtze River General Company of Guangming Food Group, since 2011 it has won the Golden Crab Award at the national river crab competition for three consecutive years. To further develop the crab industry and promote the Chong'ao brand, Shanghai Yangtze River General Company specially established Shanghai Guangming Special Aquatic Products Co., Ltd. this year, and the Chong'ao Clearwater Hairy Crab Food Festival is the first event hosted by the special aquatic products company for its own golden crab.

One crab once troubled several generations of Chongming people. Chongming, with the special geographical environment of the Yangtze River estuary, has the distinctive variety Chinese mitten crab standing out among the rest, and crab seedlings have long spread across the length and breadth of the motherland. However, when large crabs from other provinces and cities, especially Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs around Shanghai, were making huge profits, Chongming's crab industry stopped at the uppermost end of the crab industry chain because of resource and environmental factors and could only sell crab seedlings, because local adult crabs in Chongming could not compare in size or appearance with the clearwater hairy crabs with blue shells, white bellies, yellow hairs and golden claws. Local adult crabs, the "black small crabs," had never been able to become "hairy crabs."

Because of technological innovation, starting in 2010, Chongming's local "black small crabs" gradually grew into "hairy crabs." Not only did they grow larger, but in quality they also showed the advantages of hairy crabs from an ecological island. The reporter learned from the special aquatic products company that the breeding process for hairy crabs is very particular. In addition to scientifically formulated releases of live frozen small fish and other sources of animal protein in the middle and later stages of breeding, a special aquatic grass environment must also be created for adult crabs. The entire new breeding technology finally produced the "Chong'ao Brand" gold-award clearwater hairy crab. "All 54 testing indicators of the European Union were passed in one go, and to this day it still enjoys Hong Kong, China inspection-free treatment. New technology changed the fate of Chongming's black small crabs and also realized the transformation and upgrading of Chongming's crab industry chain. The company's 2,000 mu of water surface produces 150,000 jin of crabs a year, and there is still no time to attend to the Japanese and South Korean markets. In the future we plan to expand to 10,000 mu," Li Youqing said.

One crab revitalizes picking tours, village tours and ecological tours

"Because the brand influence of Chong'ao Brand Hairy Crab has risen year after year, in addition to the development of the crab industry itself, it has also brought rare opportunities to drive and integrate the sales of specialty agricultural products around Yuejin Farm and agricultural leisure sightseeing rural tourism," Li Youqing told the reporter. The first Chong'ao Brand Hairy Crab Opening Festival planned last year gave them a lot of inspiration: use festivals to enhance brand value, and use brand influence to integrate regional resources, thereby realizing the dream of one crab energizing the economy of a whole area.

The reporter learned from residents who participated in last year's opening festival that they ate very happily at the opening festival and also had a great time in the small world of Yangtze River Crab Manor, but the organizers could not satisfy the residents' wish to see all the scenery along one route. And right around the crab manor, rural tourism attractions such as Ruihua Orchard, Guangming Rice Industry Training Center, Dongping National Forest Park, Chongming Xisha Wetland and Chongming Sanmin Folk Culture Village could only watch helplessly as residents ate crabs and then returned to the urban area.

Why not integrate resources and plan a whole route of scenery, so that residents can taste crabs, buy local specialty agricultural products and also travel all along the way? Guangming Special Aquatic Products, Ruihua Industrial and Haibo Culture Media, three companies, hit it off immediately and jointly hosted the festival event. Thus, the Chong'ao Brand Hairy Crab Opening Festival, held for only one edition, gave way to the "2014 Chong'ao Clearwater Hairy Crab Food Festival."

During the food festival, picking tours represented by kiwifruit picking at Ruihua Orchard, village tours represented by Sanmin Folk Culture Village, and ecological tours represented by Xisha Wetland will comprehensively display local modern agriculture and ecological tourism resources, satisfying the rural travel needs of residents coming to participate in the food festival from National Day to before January 15 next year.

"If one crab can attract residents to drive three hours to Yuejin Farm, then they will certainly be interested in eating all the specialty agricultural products and playing all around the area. The key is whether Chong'ao Brand Hairy Crab can maintain the charm of the Golden Crab Award, and whether our services and the integrated projects we launch can satisfy residents' comfortable experience throughout the entire trip," Li Youqing said very realistically, and his grasp of the connotation of the interaction between brand and festival was also very much on point.