This is significant given how real estate developers, riding China’s frenzied urbanization, have provided a steady source of customers for China’s high-end seafood restaurants. The signs of real estate-fueled wealth are obvious in the Bohai Bay port city of Yantai, but so too are the effects of the credit curbs. Built by one of China’s largest real estate developers, Shimao, the “Above the Clouds” high-rise luxury apartment development under construction will “rewrite the latitude of wealth in Yantai” according to an advert in the Yantai Daily newspaper. Construction however is only half-complete, a year behind schedule.
However, government’s piecemeal easing of interest rates and banks’ lending allowances this year have loosened up credit for the real estate sector, traditionally the driver of China’s economy. Housing prices and sales numbers have both been inching up again and this will encourage developers to start building again.
Even if an economic pick-up is around the corner, in the meantime China’s restaurants are feeling the pinch. In the prosperous south coastal city of Xiamen, more than 18 percent of restaurants fail and close on a monthly basis, according to the Chinese Cuisine Association (CCA), which described the figure as the worst in a decade.
A key reason may be rents, rising due to government restrictions on home purchases.
“Even as the property sector has cooled, rents went up 20 percent in the past year. This is because people are not buying real estate so there’s more competition for rentals,” according to the maitre d’ at the spacious Shandong Shui Chan restaurant in the Beijing Central Park residential-commercial complex.
Restaurateurs in Beijing point to wages and rents as key factors: The former has risen threefold in the past eight years, said proprietors. Rents since 2008 have risen by a similar amount. Having to pay higher wages and rents is especially difficult for eateries catering to the majority of Beijing residents who earn the city’s average wage of RMB 2,500 a month.
Input costs by contrast may be more negotiable, said one restaurateur who wouldn’t disclose his seafood suppliers. Beijing restaurateurs are incredibly wary about discussing the geographic sources of their seafood — bass and shrimp, for instance, are described as “Asian” on some menus. There’s anecdotal evidence from visits to Beijing fish markets that fish served at premium import prices are in fact produced in China, in effect allowing restaurateurs greater margins.
A stall holder at the Sanyuanli wet market in Beijing, popular with hoteliers and restaurateurs, explained how his key sellers are garoupa, mackerel and bass (RMB 35, RMB 15 and RMB 18 per 500 grams, respectively).
“The bass comes from Fujian or Qingdao, it’s all local…I know these are popular with western- style restaurants but this is Chinese product for sure, not imported.” Likewise, the snapper priced at RMB 30 per 500 grams is locally produced, explained Wang Ge, who buys his fish from wholesalers and distributors as well as carp producers near Beijing.
Others are downgrading prices. The usually upscale Shunfung Seafood Restaurant chain has promised to start offering value lunch sets. A branch of the restaurant in Beijing, popular with government officials and diplomats, offers a selection of grouper (RMB 380 to RMB 480 per fish), Atlantic cod (varies from RMB 120 to RMB 300 according to dish) and South African oysters (RMB 56 a piece).
Fast-food chains have benefited, to some extent in a slower economy. KFC, with 3,900 outlets across China, has seen revenues rise in the first half of 2012 but the chain has also complained that its profits have fallen due to higher costs (including rent) and wages. Worried about more restaurant closures, the CCA has requested government to cut taxes on restaurants.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Although Germany’s tuna imports have declined, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the market continue to show positive signs. Notably, export value recovered strongly in Q3/2026, and German import data also show Vietnamese products strengthening their position amid competition among suppliers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports are holding double-digit growth, but the opportunities are not spread evenly across product groups and markets. As businesses draw up their plans for 2027, Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS2026) offers a chance to look ahead together: what to sell, where to sell it, and how to prepare for growth in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) With less than two weeks to go, the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) will officially take place in Can Tho. Under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029 – Opportunities and Potential for Double-Digit Export Growth,” the Summit is organized by VASEP at a time when seafood businesses are facing rapid market shifts, changing buyer demand, trade policy changes and growing competitive pressure all at once.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 28, 2026, the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo opened in Qingdao, China. The expo takes place over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026. This is a prestigious specialized seafood exhibition organized annually by Sea Fare Exposition Inc.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
(vasep.com.vn) VASEP has officially announced the program for Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026), featuring five in-depth sessions covering industry outlooks, trade barriers, buyer demand, the domestic market, and solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs across the seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. Although growth has been supported by China and several markets within the CPTPP, momentum is slowing as exports to the United States and the European Union decline. Tariff pressures, international competition, and raw material challenges are creating significant hurdles for exporters in the final months of the year.
(vasep.com.vn) Markets are changing faster, buyer requirements are becoming more demanding, and trade barriers are growing increasingly complex. In this environment, seafood businesses need more than an understanding of current market conditions. They need a longer-term perspective to answer a critical question: Where will growth opportunities come from in 2027–2029, and what should businesses do now to prepare? This is one of the key reasons why VASEP is organizing Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East reached US$113 million, up 7% year on year from the same period in 2025. Growth has become more pronounced in recent months. In August alone, exports to the region totaled US$20 million, an increase of 24%. This indicates that demand for Vietnamese pangasius in the Middle East is gradually recovering after a slowdown in March, although the pace of recovery varies across markets.
(vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports continued to grow strongly in 2026, while Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market also recorded notable growth. However, behind these positive figures lie two distinct trends: Chinese consumption is growing more slowly than imports, and lobster accounts for a substantial share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China, making its product mix significantly different from those of Ecuador and India. Exporters therefore need to assess each segment carefully to understand the opportunities and risks.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
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