Shunde eel from Guangdong goes online for the first time, testing the waters of online sales
“To see China's eel industry, look to Guangdong; to see Guangdong's eel industry, look to Shunde.” Shunde is China's hometown of eel, and today the new eel-farming setup of “Shunde headquarters + Taishan farming base” is influencing the global eel consumer market and has become an important link driving the global eel industry chain.
To better promote Shunde's eel industry and showcase the charm of Shunde from more dimensions, on the evening of August 13, the 3-episode documentary “The Story of Eel,” co-produced by CCTV Documentary Channel, the Guangdong Province Eel Industry Association, the Publicity Department of the Shunde District Committee, and the Shunde District Agriculture Bureau, was announced to begin filming. This documentary series will also take over from this year's “May Day” period nationally popular food documentary “Taste of Shunde,” continuing to tell Shunde's story to the world.
Why was “The Story of Eel” filmed in Shunde?
For many people, eel is not a common ingredient on the dining table. Even for Shunde locals, many know about Shunde's eel industry, yet often do not understand why Shunde's eel can make a name for itself in the world and drive the global eel industry chain.
The choice to film “The Story of Eel” in Shunde this time can be said to be timely. According to the Guangdong Province Eel Industry Association, as the world's largest eel farming and exporting country, the live eels exported domestically are basically all produced in Guangdong. At present, Guangdong's eel industry is influencing the world with the new setup of “Shunde headquarters + Taishan farming base.” Every year, about 60% of the eel output here is sold far away to more than 30 countries and regions including Japan, the United States, the European Union, Russia, South Korea, and Australia.
Because eels cannot yet be artificially bred and can only come from eel fry produced in nature and scientific, meticulous ecological farming, Taishan, more than 100 kilometers away from Shunde, has become an excellent place for farming eel. The climate, soil, and pure water sources here are conducive to producing high-quality eel. Therefore, against the backdrop of Pearl River Delta economic integration and coordinated regional development, the farming segment of Shunde's eel industry has gradually gathered in Taishan, and “Taishan eel” has also become a nationally protected geographical indication product.
But as the birthplace of the eel industry, Shunde remains a very key link in the eel industry. As early as the late 1980s, Shunde pioneered domestic pond farming of eel in China. With the development and growth of the eel industry, Shunde, relying on strong corporate strength, world-class equipment, and a scientific and complete quality and safety control system, has become the headquarters base for eel processing, logistics, and more.
How can a tiny eel stir the world's taste buds?
Although eel is not often seen on Chinese dining tables, in many countries eel is a healthy food that helps people take in balanced nutrition.
Because it is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and unsaturated fatty acids, “eating eel rice in winter drives away the cold, and using eel in summer to nourish the body” is especially favored by diners in Japan and other countries. As the country that consumes the most eel in the world, Japan consumes about 1,000 grams per person per year on average, amounting to as much as 100,000 tons annually. However, eel is difficult to breed artificially, and production limits have kept eel prices on the international market persistently high.
It is worth mentioning that although the global consumption of eel, especially in Japan, is enormous, its strict quality requirements for imported eel products have also shut out many eel export origins. However, the quality and safety control system established by Guangdong's eel industry, featuring “controllable at the source, traceable in the process, and guaranteed in quality,” has made exported eel one of the safest foods and upholds the image of Chinese food going global.
Using the “eel story” to tell of craftsmanship
It is understood that the documentary “The Story of Eel” will use a completely new perspective to tell the mysterious life trajectory of eel and explore how it slowly yet powerfully changes human physical capacity; it can even drive an industry chain that affects the whole world and become a barometer of natural balance and the human condition. The production team is the original crew of “Taste of Shunde,” and filming is expected to take one year to complete.
This major creation of the documentary “The Story of Eel” is, on the one hand, intended to popularize eel as a healthy ingredient, drive another wave of Shunde food enthusiasm after “Taste of Shunde,” promote the further development of related industries in Shunde, and let eel ride the express train of “World Capital of Gastronomy” toward a broader global market.
On the other hand, it is also hoped that food will be closely combined with people, culture, industry, and the city to show the multi-dimensional charm of Shunde. Wang Yong, member of the Standing Committee of the Shunde District Committee and head of the Publicity Department, believes that the domestic pond eel farming method pioneered by Shunde and the refinement and scientific rigor pursued in production and processing carry the Shunde entrepreneurial spirit of “innovation, cooperation, and integrity” and are an embodiment of craftsmanship.