Crucian carp prices lead the rally at high levels, freshwater fish market faces overall shortage

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Editor's Note

Before we knew it, nearly four months had passed since the 2016 Spring Festival, and the freshwater fish market had been in a state of both strong supply and demand after the holiday. But entering May, freshwater fish began to show supply falling short of demand, and following "Garlic You Fierce" and the "Pig Cycle," freshwater fish prices also began to become restless.

Crucian carp in particular saw prices rise sharply, breaking past ten yuan per jin in many places. Why does freshwater fish supply run short at this time of year, and how long will the price increases last? Let's hear the report from China National Radio reporter Wang Feng.

Over the past few days, reporters visited several farmers' markets in Beijing and found that crucian carp, whose price had been relatively stable in recent years, had begun to rise frequently and showed sharp increases.

[Reporter: Hello, are you a fish seller? Do you have crucian carp?]

[Fish vendor: Yes.]

[Reporter: How much per jin now?]

[Fish vendor: 12 yuan per jin]

According to the fish vendor, the current price of crucian carp is around 13 yuan per jin. At the end of April, the price of crucian carp was still around 9 yuan per jin, and prices rose after May Day. In farmers' markets, crucian carp prices breaking ten can be described as "leaping over the dragon gate," while in some supermarkets, crucian carp prices rose even more dramatically:

[Reporter: Sir, do you have crucian carp? How much per jin?]

[Supermarket staff: It's 18 yuan 99 fen per jin now]

[Reporter: That expensive?]

[Supermarket staff: The key thing is they raised prices, so there's nothing we can do.]

[Reporter: This has risen a lot compared to last month too, right?]

[Supermarket staff: Yes, it used to be 14 yuan 99 fen, now they keep raising it, and there's nothing we can do. We didn't buy any for a while, and now we need it again, but the price has risen a lot. If it drops someday, we'll lower the price immediately.]

In major farmers' markets and supermarkets, prices of various freshwater fish on the market have risen to varying degrees. Besides crucian carp, prices of grass carp, bighead carp and silver carp have also risen by around 1 yuan per jin. Xu Chunhui, analyst at the Shandong Weihai Aquatic Products Wholesale Market:

[Xu Chunhui: Taking the Shandong Weihai aquatic products market as an example, live common carp has risen to 14 to 15 yuan per kg, live bighead carp is priced at 16 yuan per kg, live grass carp is around 15 yuan per kg, while the price of live crucian carp on the market has risen especially noticeably, having climbed to 26 to 27 yuan per kg, up 10.4% from the previous period and up 32.5% year-on-year.]

Xu Chunhui, analyst at the Shandong Weihai Aquatic Products Wholesale Market, analyzed that the current high-level operation of freshwater fish prices is caused by multiple factors.

[Xu Chunhui: The main reasons for the recent across-the-board rise in freshwater fish prices are: first, since April local fish ponds have successively entered the pond-clearing period, and sustained spring drought in Shandong and other places has reduced the volume of freshwater fish leaving ponds, making market supply relatively tight and the market gap fairly large; second, the current season is the spawning period for freshwater fish, and to protect fish reproduction and growth, large lake areas have entered a fishing moratorium, reducing the volume of freshwater fish coming to market; third, affected by the post-holiday peak season in May, market demand has continued to climb, widening the supply-demand gap; fourth, as temperatures rise in various places, losses of freshwater fish during transport gradually increase, driving up costs. At present, shortages of crucian carp and small-sized grass carp in various places are relatively serious.]

Xu Chunhui predicted that throughout the summer, the situation of freshwater fish supply falling short of demand and prices operating at high levels is expected to persist.

[Xu Chunhui: Due to factors such as reduced pond output and increased demand for freshwater fish, especially as temperatures rise, the growth rate of freshwater fish will become slower and slower, and the market supply-demand gap will further widen. Coupled with the sharp rise in pork prices in April and May, ordinary people's demand for freshwater fish has continued to increase, and some varieties of freshwater fish on the market will still have some room to rise. At the same time, in June, as the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea enter the summer fishing moratorium, more people in northern regions will shift their attention from sea fish to freshwater fish, increasing market demand for freshwater fish. So in the later period, freshwater fish prices will still hover at high levels, generally lasting until around the end of August. In the short term, the recent widespread heavy rainstorms in the south, plus the ocean fishing moratorium, and the arrival of the graduation wave of junior high and high school graduates in June, will become another factor keeping freshwater fish prices operating at high levels.]

For freshwater fish farmers, Xu Chunhui, analyst at the Shandong Weihai Aquatic Products Wholesale Market, also offered his own suggestions:

[Xu Chunhui: Here I also suggest that farmers expand sales channels for freshwater fish, pay close attention to market information, establish long-term production and sales partnerships with major wholesale markets, and lock in part of their profits. At the same time, they should sell at a steady pace according to market prices at any time to maximize returns. I also remind farmers to reasonably adjust their farming structure, and stock and harvest ponds at the right time and in the right amount. Although market demand is currently strong and the market is relatively optimistic, everyone should have a long-term plan and increase the added value of freshwater fish through scientific farming.]

Reporter: Wang Feng

Editor: Wang Feng