The Sino-Norwegian Free Trade Agreement will be implemented as early as next fall, and Norwegian producers need to raise more fish to meet the needs of Chinese consumers.

Text: UCN
Translation: Hu Luyi

    After overcoming the obstacles to import and export policies, Norway looks forward to signing a free trade agreement with China at an early date and thoroughly opening up the export channel for seafood. Norwegian Ambassador to China Gustav Solvang said, "The next round of Sino-Norwegian free trade negotiations will be held in Oslo, Norway after Christmas. In the third quarter of 2019, the free trade agreement will be basically reached."

    “Achieving zero tariff on imports and exports of seafood is the ultimate goal of Norway, and more quality seafood will enter the Chinese market at a low price,” Solvang said.

    In 2025, Norway wants to export 156,000 tons of salmon to China, accounting for 65% of the Chinese market. However, Chinese buyers have a special liking for large-size products (6-7kg), while the Norwegian-produced salmon is mainly medium to small. “Norway can occupy a larger market, but only if Norwegian producers have to raise large fish to meet the needs of the Chinese market; the color of the fish is also critical,” said Joseph Xu, a Shanghai-based processing company Fjord Food executive. “The more Chinese consumers The more attention comes to the origin of salmon. Many of the products in the past have been distributed to cities in the Mainland through Hong Kong, and the traceability is relatively poor. To avoid repeating this phenomenon, the cost of air transporting salmon to cities in mainland China has been greatly reduced."

    In this regard, Norwegian salmon producer Ocean Supreme said it will increase the proportion of Atlantic salmon more than 6 kg to meet the needs of the Asian market. “The increase in demand for large-sized salmon exceeds global production growth. The global demand for large-scale salmon is 160,000 tons per year. Although global production has increased to 2.4 million tons this year, many producers are still subject to strict government. Control, can't continue to improve product supply." CEO Botholf Stolt-Nielsen said, "The price of big fish will definitely be higher. Chinese consumers like reddish salmon, and many people think that the health of meat is about red."

    The number of frozen seafood imported from Qingdao is increasing every year, a large part of which comes from Norway. To speed up the import clearance, the Chinese government has simplified the customs clearance inspection process. Taking Qingdao Customs as an example, the lower the risk of sampling, the lower the risk of sampling, and the higher the risk sampling rate. For the import of new varieties, the Chinese government generally conducts a rigorous risk assessment.

    However, the efficiency of inspection and quarantine has been greatly improved, and the customs clearance time has been greatly reduced. In April of this year, many border inspection departments in China began to integrate. The relevant departments of the General Administration of Customs and the State Quality Supervision Bureau and the Inspection and Quarantine Bureau began to merge. It is expected that the integration will be completed next year. After the integration, the procedures will continue.