By Atuna
Even though China has one of the largest tuna fleet in the world - with 601 vessels, of which being 12 purse-seiners - its tuna canning industry is only now quietly growing and expanding to new markets.
Total canned tuna production and its destination are not so easy to track, since there are several small unregistered factories. There are a few large and legitimate canneries though, such as MMP China, Tropical China, H&P and Rex Foods.
MMP China has a daily production of about 15-20 MT. H&P (a joint venture of local Hilisen group and Pattaya Food) has capacity to produce 40 MT/day. The company, along with Tropical China turned part of the production to frozen pre-cooked loins since the rejection of their canned tuna by United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) some years ago. Rex processes catering size for domestic sales.
Although is it a fact that Chinese canned tuna exports are growing in Europe and United States, annual export levels are still very low, about 6.000 MT and 400 MT respectively. However, China also exports tuna products to Middle Eastern countries and Russia, which could fill in the data gap between production and exports.
Nevertheless, the greatest strength of the country within the tuna industry is still fishing.
Tuna catches from small boats are processed only locally. Purse-seiners are also supplying local production and foreign canneries by exporting frozen loins and whole round tuna. There is no available data to confirm the share of raw material for local production, but when considering Chinese fishing capacity, one is expected to assume that canned tuna manufacturing is substantial in the country.
Although members of the Chinese tuna industry do not think domestic consumption of the fish is increasing, there are rumors that the country is planning to double its tuna fleet capacity. Considering China’s immensity, changes on tuna harvest and production could affect the entire industry in a very short period of time.