Market
Trends for Live Marine Fishes in Asia
Sudari[1]
Abstract
The live fish industry based on coral reef fishes, lobsters, and shrimps
are increasing in Southeast Asia. Many
countries, including Australia and New Zealand, in Southeast Asia, and Maldives
are exporters of live or frozen products.
China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan are the major
exporters of live fishes to Hong Kong.
The main importers of marine fishery products are Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Singapore, and Japan. New markets are
emerging in South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines due to the rapid and
high economic growth in these countries. Sabah, in Malaysia, is a producer of
live coral reef fishes and exporting mainly to Hong Kong. At present, the production of coral reef
fishes for the live fish trade is decreasing due to fish-bombing and
cyanide-squirting. Cage culture of
coral reef fishes is thus hampered due to the diminishing supply of juveniles
for grow-out and the lack of support by hatcheries. A two-pronged approach for product diversification and marketing
regulations are recommended to conserve the live fish trade.
Introduction
The world fishery trade has been continuously growing
during the past decade as a result of increasing demand for fish and fishery
products. In 1994, the total world
export of fish products reached US $ 47 billion or an increase of 12 % and 15.5
% from the previous year, respectively.
International markets for fish and fishery products are still dominated
by Japan, United States, and Europe.
Southeast Asia and the Far East are perceived to be growing market areas
for seafood. Demand is stronger in this region in comparison to the Western
hemisphere.
Fish products being imported are still dominated, in
terms of value, by processed fish, crustacean and mollusks, and by canned
products. However, fresh/chilled fish
and live fish trade also play increasingly an important role in this region. Even though the quantity is small, live fish
trade in this region involves billions of US dollars and serves the upper class
market.
The major markets for live marine finfish is in the
Southeast Asian region, where most of the Chinese Cantonese ethnic group live,
and in Japan, where there is a tradition of consuming sashimi prepared from
live fish. Hong Kong is the largest
market for this commodity where most of its 6 million population is
Cantonese. However, other Asian markets
such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are also important due to
their significant Chinese populations.
Recently, the market in South Korea has been growing as an important
market for live fishes.
The consumption pattern is observable in restaurants -
the main outlets for live marine finfish in this region. The peak consumption is around in January or
February during the Chinese New Year.
The species in demand are high value marine finfish, such as groupers (Epinephelus
spp.), Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and stonefish (Synanceia
spp.), which are regarded by the Chinese as fishes that bring good fortune and
display social status.
The discussion below is thus limited to the major
markets for live marine finfishes in the region, namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Singapore, Japan, and a few emerging markets.
Since there are a wide range of live fishes traded in this region, this
paper is limited to three major groups of live marine finfishes, especially
coral reef fishes, lobsters, and shrimps.
Live fishes are considered as a value-added product - the value being
added is the living feature of the fishes.
Major Markets: A review
Hong
Kong
In 1995, Hong Kong imported 28,213 mt of live fishes and
2,263 mt of live shrimps, excluding fish fry, live carps and trout, live eels,
and also ornamental fishes (Table 1). Lobsters were also imported totalling to
7,380 mt from various countries (Table 2).
It is believed that most of the live fishes imported were live marine
fin fishes, especially high value wild reef fish like mouse groupers, Napoleon
wrasse, and leopard groupers, and stonefish.
The main suppliers to this market are China, Taiwan, Thailand,
Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Table 3).
Malaysian
exports of live fishes into Hong Kong in 1995 were 1,208.2 mt, where Sabah
contributed 372 mt based on the export permit issued by the Department of
Fisheries, Sabah. However, it is
believed that the actual numbers of live fishes exported from Sabah to Hong
Kong is much higher than the recorded official data.
The main markets for
live marine finfishes in Hong Kong are generally categorized into three
segments with different preferences for species (Johannes and Rippen,
1995). The first and most important
segment is the high-class seafood restaurant, which serves high-valued reef
finfishes such as Napoleon wrasse, mouse groupers, and red groupers with size
preferences between 600g to 1.2 kg.
The second segment is the banquet restaurant, which
caters for weddings and social celebrations and serves lower-priced marine
finfish such as estuary cod (Epinephelus tauvina) and farmed groupers in
the 800g - 1.5 kg range. The last
segment is the household consumers who buy lower-priced and usually cultured
marine finfishes such as seabass, parrotfish, seabream, and snappers.
Table 3. Imports of live fish and shrimps excluding fish fry, carps, eels, and ornamental fishes by country of origin in Hong Kong (quantity in metric tonnes, mt; value in HK $ 1,000); *excluding trout; source: ITN 8/96
|
Country |
Fish
|
Shrimps |
||
|
|
Quantity |
Volume |
Quantity |
Volume |
|
Australia |
354.5* |
28,872* |
22.9 |
2,281 |
|
Bangladesh |
2.4 |
84 |
24.1 |
556 |
|
China,
P. R. |
15,352.0 |
233,149 |
1,022.0 |
21,866 |
|
India |
23.1 |
856 |
168.0 |
3,296 |
|
Indonesia |
891.7 |
58,641 |
165.0 |
18,889 |
|
Japan |
42.8 |
3,547 |
3.2 |
104 |
|
Malaysia |
1,208.2 |
72,905 |
48.3 |
4,178 |
|
Maldives |
281.1 |
14,830 |
- |
- |
|
Philippines |
1,051.9 |
72,946 |
1.6 |
183 |
|
Singapore |
177.0 |
8,113 |
19.1 |
1,340 |
|
Taiwan |
1,123.2 |
49,548 |
5.3 |
181 |
|
Thailand |
7,215.6 |
317,951 |
760.7 |
52,836 |
|
Vietnam |
367.7 |
24,356 |
22.4 |
3,838 |
|
Others |
122 |
7,014 |
0.4 |
42 |
|
Total |
28,213.2 |
892,722 |
2,263.8 |
109,590 |
Table 4. Average wholesale prices for a selection of live reef fishes in Hong Kong (1990-1995); prices in US $/kg)
|
Species |
Year |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
|
humphead
wrasse (C. undulatus) |
62 |
70 |
76 |
72 |
75 |
NA |
79 |
|
red
groupers (E. akaara) |
37 |
40 |
48 |
50 |
51 |
NA |
43 |
|
dotted
groupers (P. areolatus) |
31 |
43 |
34 |
36 |
34 |
NA |
37 |
|
malabar
groupers (E. malabaricus) |
19 |
21 |
23 |
26 |
25 |
NA |
NA |
|
estuary
cod (E. tauvina) |
24 |
22 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
NA |
27 |
Sources: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries,
Hong Kong; in Johannes, R. B. and M. Riepen, 1995; ITN No. 4 and 5, 1996
The prices of live
marine finfishes vary depending on the species, season, sizes, and the source
of the fish - from the wild or from aquaculture (Table 4). In general, groupers, and Napoleon wrasses
are the most expensive species. These species
fetch more when caught in the wild, as it is said that Hong Kong consumers can
distinguish between the tastes of wild and farmed fish.
The prices of live marine fishes are also affected by
other factors. For example, Napoleon
wrasse is about US $79/kg or RM $ 204/kg in Hong Kong (Table 4). This is double the price of RM 95/kg for
which this species is sold by cage-operators in Semporna, Sabah. The huge margin between these two markets
reflects the high cost of packaging and transportation and the risk involved in
transporting live fishes.
The change in the political status of Hong Kong in
1997 was predicted to bring a negative impact on the live marine finfish
trade. However, it should also be
considered that for years, unrecorded volumes of live marine finish has been
shipped to the southern provinces of China from Hong Kong. Southern China is now well-developed as a
major fish market, including for live marine finfish, thus, it is suggested
that China’s rule over Hong Kong will affect trade only in the short term. For the long term the big question regarding
the future market of live marine finfish is that of supplies, where in many
areas in this region, depletion of reef fish resources is at a serious level.
Taiwan
The Taiwanese market for live marine finfishes is much
smaller than Hong Kong; in fact, Taiwan is one of the main suppliers to Hong
Kong, especially for marine cultured fishes like groupers, seabasses, and
snapper. Taiwan imports a significant
amount of live lobsters and live shrimps but a relatively small amount for live
marine fishes. In 1994, imports of live
marine fishes were only 50 mt, mainly from Thailand. Groupers accounted for more than 83 % of the imported fishes and
the balance were seabream and seabass (Table 5).
Unlike Hong Kong consumers, the Taiwanese do not have
much appreciation for live marine finfishes and, if they do, have a broader
preference with regards to live fish products. Imports, from Australia, USA, and New Zealand, and consumption
of lobsters are much higher in volume.
The prices of live marine finfishes in Taiwan are also lower compared to
Hong Kong; the price of Napoleon wrasse is only between US $ 40-60/kg, i.e.,
approximately 75 % of the price in Hong Kong.
Table 5. Imports of live marine animals in Taiwan (1989-1994) from National Statistics; *estimates
|
Product |
Year |
||||||
|
|
1989 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995* |
|
lobsters |
477 |
246 |
1,414 |
2,372 |
2,663 |
2,800 |
2,900 |
|
shrimps |
NA |
NA |
NA |
1,581 |
2,557 |
2,897 |
3,000 |
|
groupers |
NA |
NA |
- |
5 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
|
Total |
2,230 |
2,509 |
4,257 |
6,690 |
9,298 |
10,005 |
12,000 |
The main outlets for live marine finfishes are, as in
Hong Kong, the restaurants. The size
preference is between 600g to 1 kg for groupers. In general, the Taiwan market prefers smaller fishes than the
Hong Kong market (pers. com. with one exporter from Sabah).
Singapore
With a population of
only three million, Singapore is not a big market for highly valued live marine
finfishes. However, it is an important
market for lower-priced marine finfishes like seabass. Most of the live fishes imported into the
country is freshwater aquarium fishes and, in the process, has become the main
trading centre for aquarium fishes in the region. In 1994, imports of live
marine food finfishes were 1,841 mt.
These imports mainly come from West Malaysia, having 96 % of the share
of the market. The main species
imported was live seabass and the rest being groupers and snappers. Since the most popular commodity traded is
seabass, only a small amount of fish was imported from Sabah. This was recorded officially as 26 mt in
1994 and mainly composed of groupers.
Japan
Japan is the
biggest market for fish and fishery products in the world where sashimi is
prepared traditionally from live fishes.
However, even though it is the biggest market in the world, its import
of live marine fish is less than Hong Kong.
Total imports of the three live fish groups, lobsters, finfishes, and
shrimps in 1995 were far below Hong Kong’s imports (Table 6). But it is a growing market for live fishes
and lobsters. A total of 5,613 mt of
live fishes were supplied in 1995 (Table 7). During 1996, the import of live
lobsters has been showing an increase, while the import of traditional whole
cooked lobsters was declining. It is expected
that live lobster will substitute gradually, whole-cooked lobsters from
institutional outlets. The main
suppliers for live lobsters are Australia, New Zealand, and USA and for live
fishes, China and South Korea (Table 8).
Meanwhile, the live shrimps imports are mainly kuruma shrimps (Penaeus
japonicus) from China, Australia, and Spain.
Table 7.
Imports of live fishes by main suppliers (1995)
|
Country |
Quantity (mt) |
|
China |
4,140 |
|
South Korea |
1,228 |
|
Others |
245 |
|
Total |
5,613 |
Table 8. Imports of live fishes in Taiwan by country of origin (1995)
Country
|
Quantity (mt) |
|
Australia |
1,536 |
|
New Zealand |
995 |
|
USA |
992 |
|
Others |
1,252 |
|
Total |
4,775 |
Other markets
Even though the markets, described above, are the main
markets for live marine finfishes, other Asian markets like Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, and South Korea are also growing very rapidly due to the
high economic growth and the significant ethnic Chinese populations in these
countries. Malaysia, for example, with a population of more than 20 million, is
a growing market for not only live fishes, but also live shrimps and
lobsters. Thailand is also the main
producer and consumer of cultured seabass where the main outlet is the
high-class seafood restaurant sector.
Thus, the demand is supplied satisfactorily by internal supply of 2,000
mt. It was predicted that the market is
expected to grow moderately in line with population and economic growth in the
region, with size preferences varying from the ideal of 600-700 g/piece in
different markets.
The market in South Korea is also expanding
rapidly. Imports of live fishes during
January-April 1996 increased by 90 % in comparison to the previous year. During this period, import of live fishes
increased from 635 mt in 1995 to 1,777 mt in 1996 at a value of US $ 16.04
million. The main products imported
were seabass at US $ 5.22 million followed by eels at US $ 5.08 million and sea
bream at US $ 2.8 million.
Meanwhile, the fresh/chilled markets, both for whole
or fillet forms, are still limited and comparatively smaller and the prices are
also lower than that of live fishes.
Thus, the live fish market is more lucrative for sea bass and the first
target should be directed toward this market.
Although there is a market for fillets, producing this from cultured
seabass is not economically viable because of the high cost (feed/fish ratio)
in growing these fishes to a suitable size that that buyers are willing pay
for.
Sabah
The marine finfish culture sector in Sabah or
elsewhere in this region is not well-supported by hatcheries. Therefore, the supply of fingerlings largely
depends on wild sources. However,
operators face difficulties in obtaining good fingerlings. They report that the supplies of reef fishes
have been declining, due to illegal harvest practices like fish-bombing and
cyanide-squirting. Moreover, in Sabah,
there are no official restrictions on catching reef fish fingerlings. So far, only seabass fingerlings can be
obtained through the hatchery in Tuaran but these are not enough to meet
current demand[2]. For other
species, like groupers or Napoleon wrasse, technology is the main constraint
for the development of the aquaculture.
No country has succeeded commercially in developing marine reef fish
culture that is supported by hatcheries; not even Taiwan, Hong Kong, or
Thailand which are regarded as pioneers in marine fish culture. Therefore, in the next few years, the
industry will still rely on wild fingerlings.
In the live fish trade, transportation is a critical
aspect where the success or the failure of this business depends largely on the
availability of air-cargo space to major markets. In Sabah, the availability of transportation is not a problem;
there is an increase in the number of flights to Hong Kong, in particular. The problem is in the numbers of available
fishes to be exported; sometimes the flights may be cancelled due to the volume
fishes for export is less than the available air-cargo space.
Another problem is mortality during
transportation. Under normal
conditions, the mortality rate is very low, between 5-10 %, so generally it is
not a problem. Higher mortality occurs
due to delayed flights or unscheduled landing (for example in Manila instead of
Hong Kong) due to bad weather. There is
no export insurance for the live fish trade to cover for losses resulting from
mortalities.
As the demand for live marine finfish increased, the
number of exporters from Sabah also increased and, ultimately, exerted more
pressure on coral reef resources. The
competition between exporters is now fierce, causing increases in the ex-farm
price of live fishes. On the other
hand, the prices in Hong Kong are not always at such high levels (the highest
is during Chinese New Year). With the
increasing cost of handling, packaging, and air-freight charges coupled with
the high-risk nature of the business, some exporters complain that the profit
margin is decreasing. This is the main
reason why some of the livefish exporters are not trading anymore.
To maintain the supply, big cage-operators and
exporters allow credit to fishermen in exchange for any livefish caught to be
exclusively sold to them. The fishermen
sometimes break the agreement and sell the fishes to other people for a better
price. This practice is another reason
that some of the exporters have become bankrupt.
Marketing strategy
development for live marine fishes
Based on the nature of the live marine fin-fish trade,
the priority for development must be on the development of species, which has
good market potential both locally and internationally, and on the hatcheries
that can support the industry.
Meanwhile, for species which are largely dependent on wild sources, more
regulated marketing is needed to ensure the sustainability of the supply in the
market without losing its share of the market and without overexploiting the
biological base of the industry.
The only species supported by the hatchery industry is
the seabass and, probably, the snapper, as discussed elsewhere in this
volume. With good support from
commercial hatcheries, the supply of fingerlings will be less of a problem and
a marketing plan can be executed properly.
Seabass has a market potential in live, fresh/chilled, and frozen
forms. The main market for seabass is
Asia, particularly Singapore. The
question now is whether seabass from Sabah can compete with seabass from West
Malaysia or Thailand. The price of
seabass is the main competitive edge where the aquaculture has long been
developed in Singapore, West Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan. Thus, seabass can likely be produced at a
lower price. Therefore, the cost of
production should be examined in more detail and reviewed in order to reduce
production cost and to improve the competitiveness of the products in the
market.
The local market for live seabass is undeveloped, thus
new investment from the government is needed to promote it. In addition, it is necessary to upgrade
facilities for distributing live fishes in fish markets by providing, for
example, aerators and oxygen tanks to attract consumers.
At present, direct exports for live marine products
from Sandakan to Taiwan are limited to live lobsters. The main problem for exporting live fish directly from Sandakan,
as stated by one exporter, is transportation as there are fewer flights from
Sandakan than from Tawau or from Kota Kinabalu. Using Live Fish Transport Vessels (LFTVs) is a good option if
there is a reasonable volume of fishes but this type of operation must be
monitored and controlled closely by the Department of Fisheries.
A product diversification strategy should also be
explored not only for live but also fresh/chilled seabass (both whole and
fillets) to serve markets in Europe and the US. Fish harvested from cages which do not meet the requirement for
selling live fishes due to unsuitable sizes or poor conditions, can be further
processed as dressed whole fish or into fillets and packed by shrink-wapping,
vacuum-packaging, or Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Diversification of products can be also be done for other marine
finfish species which are not suitable to be traded alive.
The depletion of the
resource is serious elsewhere in the region for the high value marine finfishes
like groupers and Napoleon wrasse. A
marketing strategy should be developed carefully towards its sustainability. The government, in controlling export of the
fishes from Sabah, should develop stringent marketing control otherwise
depletion of reef resources, that occurred in the Philippines and Indonesia
will, also happen or perhaps has already happened here in Sabah. These two countries are now enforcing some
marketing regulations, including a ban on the trading of Napoleon wrasse and
the use of cyanide in fishing. Before
it is too late, Sabah should also develop certain marketing regulations,
including a ban to make sure that the biological resources are well-conserved.
Literature Cited
Johannes, R. E. and
M. Riepen. 1995.
Environmental, economic and social implications of the live reef fish
trade in Asia and the West Pacific. The
Nature Conservancy, Honolulu, Hawaii. 87 pp.