China and South Korea are becoming the newly emerging bluefin markets, as South Australia’s tuna exports to the two countries soar dramatically. The region’s tuna industry has said the new export boom is boosting flagging prices and attracting interest from Chinese investors.
South Australian tuna sales to both China and Korea have risen from just 10 tons in 2012, to as much as 156 tons last year.
This year it is expected that this will rocket again, with up to 500 tons of fresh chilled bluefin being shipped from Port Lincoln’s tuna farms, before rising to 1,000 tons in 2015.
Port Lincoln tuna baron, Hagen Stehr, said that the rising sale of tuna to China and South Korea would likely lead to a buy-up of Port Lincoln tuna companies by Chinese seafood operators to help secure their future seafood supplies.
He said: “They have to because they are eating a lot more tuna in China, but it is getting harder and harder to find supplies around the world. Quite a few people are closely scrutinizing the Port Lincoln tuna farms as they consider buying into the industry.”
Stehr said that he believed fragility of some tuna businesses, along with changing business needs and regulations imposed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in Canberra, would mean that several companies would sell out to Chinese buyers.
Just last month, Australia’s largest fishing company, Austral Fisheries sold 50 percent of its firm to Japanese company, Maruha Nichiro Holdings. Chinese seafood investors have also bought a 25 percent stake in Tassal Group, Australia’s largest seafood company. The Chinese government is providing investment funds for its industries to buy seafood assets abroad.
Stehr added: “Consumption of tuna will increase rapidly in China and I know of Japanese companies pushing increasingly into China to sell tuna. It is inevitable that more people will come to Australia to secure their food and one is China with its 1.3 billion people.”
He stressed that Australia needs to improve its strategy for the agribusiness sector and food industry. “New Zealand is a small country with only four million people, but it is far ahead of Australia in marketing to China and Japan and they are a lot more switched on in selling their produce,” he said.