I. Basic situation of fishery economic operation
(1) The fishery production is stable and the domestic market supply is guaranteed
The year 2022 is the beginning of accelerating the building of an agricultural power, and the primary task of the work of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" is to ensure food security. Aquatic product is one of the important agricultural products in China, which has made an important contribution to ensuring national food security. In recent years, the national output of aquatic products has maintained steady growth, with the output in 2022 reaching 68.69 million tons, an increase of more than 2.7 percent year-on-year (see Figure 1). The yield per unit of aquaculture is expected to reach 7,860 kg/ha, an increase of 22.1% over 2016 (6,437.7 kg/ha) and an average annual increase of 3.4%. The per capita consumption of aquatic products (①) in 2022 is 48.7kg, an increase of 6.33% over 2016 (45.8kg), with an average annual growth rate of 1.06%. The steady development of fishery production has ensured market supply and demand, provided a basic guarantee for stabilizing expectations, stabilizing prices, and stabilizing the overall fishery economy, and also provided a strong support for "practicing the concept of big food, promoting the transformation of food supply to diversification, and securing the initiative of China's food supply security".
Data source: China Fishery Statistical Yearbook 2019-2022. The output data of aquatic products in 2022 were obtained from the Statistical Bulletin of the People's Republic of China on National Economic and Social Development in 2022 of the National Bureau of Statistics.
2. The transformation and upgrading of aquaculture was accelerated
The importance of aquaculture to the stable production and supply of fisheries is becoming increasingly prominent, and the development of green transformation is imperative. At the 4th Global Aquaculture Conference, Minister Tang Renjian pointed out that the aquaculture industry should "adhere to green transformation and strive to develop environmentally friendly aquaculture". On the one hand, relevant departments have issued special documents on promoting the green development of aquatic products. Since 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has issued special documents on the implementation of the "Five major actions" to promote green and healthy aquaculture technology for four consecutive years. On the other hand, fishery authorities at all levels have adopted a series of measures to promote the transformation and upgrading of aquaculture. First, the work of breeding and releasing is promoted in an orderly manner, and the aquaculture environment is protected. Second, the standardization system of aquaculture base construction is accelerated. Through the promotion of the government and the leading enterprises in aquaculture processing, a number of aquaculture standard areas with a certain scale have been built to meet higher aquatic product quality and safety standards. Third, aquaculture methods are more intensive and intelligent. Intensive farming models such as factory, deep water cage and ecological farming have gradually replaced the traditional farming model, breaking through a series of key technologies, and realizing the intensive and intelligent development of farming methods. Fourth, carbon sink fisheries have developed to some extent. Xiuyu District, Putian City, Fujian Province, has established and formed abalone, oysters, kelp, asparagus, seaweed and other advantageous aquaculture industry to achieve carbon reduction.
(3) The total volume of import and export trade and the total volume of trade maintained growth, and the trade surplus gradually narrowed
Since the reform and opening up, China has actively participated in the international fishery economic division of labor cooperation, and vigorously developed the export-oriented fishery economy based on the foreign trade of aquatic products. Since 2000, the total export volume of aquatic products has ranked first in the export volume of bulk agricultural products. In recent years, the import trade of aquatic products has developed rapidly, the growth rate of import volume is gradually faster than that of export volume, the trade surplus is gradually narrowed, and China's aquatic products have gradually changed from export earning type to import and export balanced type. Customs data show that in 2022, the total import and export trade volume of aquatic products is 8.24 million tons, an increase of 11.65%; The total volume of import and export trade was 42.4 billion US dollars, up 17.72% year-on-year. Among them, the export volume was 3.7 million tons, down 1.3% year-on-year, and the export volume was 22.587 billion US dollars, up 4.6% year-on-year; Imports were 4.54 million tons, up 20.2% year on year, and imports were 19.836 billion US dollars, up 35.8% year on year; Trade surplus of US $2.751 billion (US $7.132 billion for the same period in 2021).
Data source: Monthly Statistics of General Administration of Customs ③.
(4) Policies lead the development of ocean-going fisheries, and the production situation is better than in previous years
In 2022, policy guidance promoted the development of the ocean-going fisheries industry, and the implementation of independent fishing moratorium on the high seas boosted the growth of ocean-going fisheries output. At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the programmatic document of ocean fishing "Opinions on promoting the high-quality development of ocean fishing in the 14th Five-Year Plan", which made the overall arrangement for the development of ocean fishing during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. In August, the "14th Five-Year Plan" promotion of high-quality fishery development will further emphasize the development policy of "going out" of the fishery, requiring continuous promotion of the development of offshore fisheries and improving the level of foreign cooperation in the fishery. Under the guidance of the policy, the level of ocean-going fishing equipment has been improved, and the pace of construction of the national ocean-going fishing base and ocean-going product trading center has been significantly accelerated. In 2022, it is expected that the output of ocean-going fisheries will exceed 2.3 million tons, an increase of more than 3%, which will exceed the year-on-year growth of domestic aquatic products by about 0.8% in the same period.
(5) Investment in fixed assets in fishery increased steadily, with a year-on-year growth rate far outpacing that of other agricultural industries
Investment in fixed assets is divided into investment in capital construction and investment in renewal and transformation, and the scope of investment in fishery fixed assets includes the purchase of fishing vessels, fishing port construction, production command and communication, fishing and navigation safety facilities, aquaculture production sites, seedling breeding and fish disease prevention and control facilities, and aquatic products preservation, processing and storage facilities. The rapid growth of fishery fixed asset investment is an important engine to stabilize the development of fishery economy and promote the employment of farmers (fishermen), and provides strong support for the safe production of fishery and the smooth logistics and transportation of aquatic products. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2022, the cumulative growth of fixed asset investment in fisheries increased by 31.8% year-on-year, much faster than the 4.2% cumulative growth of fixed asset investment in large agriculture (agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery) in the same period.
2. Problems and challenges facing the development of fishery economy
(1) Some countries tighten food exports, impacting China's feed raw material imports
Some countries have tightened grain export policies due to food security concerns. According to IFPRI data, as of October 6, 2022, 21 countries, including Argentina, Egypt, India, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and others, are restricting food exports. The restrictions mainly include wheat, corn, flour, tomatoes, vegetable oils, beans and other agricultural products, accounting for 7.3% of the global food trade (in calorie terms). Among them, in aquatic feed, the soybean meal of famous and excellent fish accounts for 5%-10%, and the bulk freshwater fish accounts for 15%-35%; Corn is the main raw material in DDGS feed formula. At present, China can not realize the independent and controllable supply of corn and soybeans, and the import dependence is high. If the import of corn and beans is restricted, it will have a certain impact on the fish feed industry, and aquaculture production will also be affected.
(2) The cost of fishery production is high, and the momentum of fishermen to increase their income is insufficient
The rise in diesel prices has directly raised the production costs of offshore fishing and offshore fishing, and the proportion of oil costs in offshore fishing costs has climbed from 50% to 70%, and the cost of offshore refueling and self-fishing transportation for offshore fishing has also increased significantly. The price of fish feed has increased significantly. Monitoring data from the National Livestock Station show that the national average price of soybean meal in the third week of December 2022 is 5.21 yuan /kg, up 38.6% year-on-year. Since 2022, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times in a row, triggering a surge in the US dollar index and the continued depreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar. The depreciation of the RMB has triggered imported inflation, which has significantly increased the cost of raw materials for feedstock processing enterprises. Affected by the epidemic situation at home and abroad, the cost of aquatic product packaging, shipping and elimination is high, the delivery time cycle is generally extended, the enterprise payment is slow, and the operation is in trouble. The rising cost of fishery production has restricted the growth of fishermen's income. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the per capita net income of fishermen in 2022 is expected to be 24,614.41 yuan, with a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 5.00%. The per capita disposable income of rural residents in 2022 is 20,133 yuan, 1.3% lower than the growth rate of per capita disposable income of rural residents (6.3%).
(3) The market price of aquatic products rose first and then fell, and the volume of trading shrank
The first half of 2022 is a critical period for the spring breeding and seeding of fishery production. Under epidemic prevention and control, fishermen cannot gather and must hold negative nucleic acid certificates to work, and aquaculture and fishing production operations are limited. The transportation of aquatic seeds, feed and aquatic products was blocked in the main fishery producing areas. Wholesale markets in some cities have been closed, restaurants have restricted sit-down food, and terminal consumption of aquatic products has been hit. The volume of aquatic products out of the pond decreased, the volume of pond compaction increased, the volume of aquatic products in the market decreased, and the price continued to rise. According to the statistics of 45 comparable wholesale markets, from January to June 2022, the trading volume of aquatic products was 3.2383 million tons, down 15.69% year-on-year; Turnover was 98.036 billion yuan, down 4.15% year-on-year (see Table 1). According to the statistics on the transactions of 80 wholesale markets of aquatic products in China, from January to June 2022, the comprehensive average price of aquatic products generally increased, reaching 25.53 yuan /kg, an increase of 1.02% (see Figure 3).
In the second half of 2022, farmers actively produced fish, and aquatic products trading market prices fell. On the one hand, feed prices continue to rise, the financial pressure of farmers increased sharply, in order to recover funds, farmers are forced to speed up out of the pond, the price of aquatic products gradually decreased; On the other hand, with the full liberalization of the national epidemic control, social catering consumption has recovered rapidly, and the consumption demand for aquatic products has amplified simultaneously. According to the transaction situation of 80 wholesale aquatic products markets in the country, the comprehensive average price of aquatic products in December was 24.63 yuan /kg, down 0.15% year-on-year, and 3.53% lower than the comprehensive average price from January to June.
(4) The import dependence of individual aquatic products seeds and seedlings is obvious, and the importance of autonomy and control is prominent
The aquaculture seed industry is the key factor to determine the development of aquaculture industry, but the individual varieties have a high degree of external dependence and face the risk of "stuck neck". In recent years, the import and export trade of China's aquaculture seed industry has maintained a deficit and the deficit amount remains high. According to Chinese customs data, China's import and export trade volume of seedlings in 2022 was 237 million US dollars, nearly double that of 2021 (126 million US dollars). Among them, exports amounted to $46.42 million and imports amounted to $190 million, resulting in a trade deficit of $144 million. Eel artificial breeding is a worldwide problem, but also a prominent problem faced by the aquaculture industry in our country, eel fry basically rely on imports, independent control is poor. Affected by El Nino climate, the fishing quantity of American eel fry is poor, and the fishing quantity of American eel fry in the Yangtze River estuary of our country will be sharply reduced, which will affect the supply of Chinese eel fry directly. Fortunately, with the continuous improvement of shrimp seedling rearing technology in China in recent years, the dependence of shrimp seedlings on imports has gradually decreased.
(5) Sino-US trade friction continues to affect China's aquatic product export trade
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the United States has fallen from the first large water products trading country in China to the second place, and Japan has now risen to the first large water products export trading country in China. In 2018, the United States initiated Section 301, which launched several rounds of additional tariff measures on China, and the tariff on agricultural products has increased from about 10% in 2018 to about 25% now. China has also imposed tariffs of about 20% to 60% on agricultural exports to the United States. According to Chinese customs data (see Table 2), China's total exports of aquatic products continued to decrease from 2018 to 2020. In 2021, thanks to the effective science of epidemic prevention and control in China, the export of aquatic products rebounded, and the total export volume reached 21.585 billion US dollars, but it was still lower than the level in 2018. In 2022, China's aquatic product exports continued to pick up, and the total export trade reached 22.587 billion US dollars. From 2018 to 2022, China's exports of aquatic products to the United States were USD 3.379 billion, USD 2.453 billion, USD 2.076 billion, USD 2.432 billion and USD 2.550 billion, accounting for 15.34%, 12.07%, 11.07%, 11.27% and 11.29% of the total exports of aquatic products, respectively. There is a downward trend.
(6) Extreme weather and other natural disasters occur frequently, affecting fishery production and transportation
Climate change is having an adverse impact on food security, and natural disasters such as extreme weather will further exacerbate the impact of the global La Nina phenomenon for the third consecutive year. In 2022, there will be more extreme weather in China, showing the characteristics of "waterlogging at both ends and drought in the middle". Affected by Typhoon "Siem ba", the city of Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, sustained heavy rain, damaged 492 deep-water cages, and direct economic losses of 700 million yuan. According to data from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Yangtze River basin has experienced the most severe meteorological drought since 1961, which has caused river shutdowns and outbreaks of aquaculture diseases. In 11 provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) along the Yangtze River basin, the area of aquaculture affected by the disaster was 2.78 million mu, and the loss of aquatic products exceeded 190,000 tons and the economic loss was more than 3.1 billion yuan. Affected by the continuous high temperature, water and electricity supply is insufficient, Sichuan, Hubei, Chongqing, Jiangsu and other places have issued a notice of power restriction, and the economic benefits of aquatic processing enterprises have declined significantly. At the same time, the drought has caused the Yangtze River basin to enter the dry season in 2022 in advance, and the waterway has been greatly narrowed, and the related aquatic transportation enterprises have been strongly impacted.
Third, policy suggestions
(1) Coordinate fishery production with epidemic prevention and control, and enhance the ability to maintain production and supply
On the one hand, actively expand the development space of aquaculture. We will expand space, increase production capacity and increase output in the development of modern facility fisheries, integrated rice-fishery farming, far-reaching Marine aquaculture, saline-alkali water aquaculture, and large surface ecological fisheries. On the other hand, vigorously develop aquatic science and technology. Focus on key varieties, accelerate the cultivation of excellent varieties, break through key technologies, further innovate technological models, gather modern equipment, and further improve the level of facility fisheries. At the same time, we will do a good job in fishery production under the normal prevention and control of the epidemic. It is suggested that the competent fishery departments make overall arrangements for epidemic prevention and control and fishery production, so as to "grasp both hands and be hard", earnestly implement all work, and earnestly ensure the smooth progress of fishery production activities.
(2) Improve the fishery support system and increase subsidies for production costs
We will increase subsidies for fishery production costs. The distribution of subsidy funds for fishery production costs should be regulated continuously, and the competent fishery departments at all levels should formulate subsidy measures and strictly implement them. As far as possible, the fishery production cost subsidy funds are directly allocated, and in the case of no objection, the subsidy funds are directly allocated to the subsidy object, so that the majority of fishermen can get the subsidy funds and alleviate the pressure on the procurement of fishing materials.
(3) Strengthen investment in fishery science and technology, and strengthen basic research in aquaculture seed industry
Strengthen research investment in import-dependent seedling breeding, accelerate the implementation of major science and technology projects in aquaculture seed industry, and strive to fully realize the independent and controllable cultivation of improved varieties. Relying on advantageous scientific research institutes and universities, strengthen the research on the basic theory, key core technology, resource mining and innovative utilization of aquatic seed industry resources, gradually build up the aquatic seed technology system with independent intellectual property rights, and promote the development of aquatic breeding to precision, high efficiency and intelligent.
4. Accelerating infrastructure construction and enhancing natural disaster defense capabilities
In order to effectively prevent natural disasters, first of all, we should do a good job in the accurate monitoring of disaster types and the release of early warning information in the main fishing areas; It is also necessary to strengthen the construction of disaster prevention and mitigation facilities such as water conservancy ditches, build drought emergency projects, water storage and drilling Wells in advance, strengthen the investigation and maintenance of mechanical well power facilities, and strengthen the maintenance of drought relief facilities and drought relief materials reserves. It is more necessary to formulate emergency plans scientifically, strengthen major disaster prevention exercises, improve emergency response capabilities, and improve the rural meteorological disaster emergency management engineering system.
Note: The relevant ocean-going production data in this paper are estimated data, and the data are subject to the "2023 China Fishery Statistical Yearbook".
① Note: Per capita consumption of aquatic products = domestic output of aquatic products/national population, which is calculated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Note: The import and export trade data of aquatic products used in this paper are from the General Administration of Customs, whose trade statistics do not include fish meal, so the overall trade surplus. If the import and export trade volume of fish meal is considered, the overall import and export trade of aquatic products in China is a deficit.
③ Note: Fish meal is not included in the statistics of import and export trade of water products in the monthly statistics report of the General Administration of Customs. The data query address is:
http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/zfxxgk/2799825/302274/302277/4185050/index.html。
④Fishmeal trade data is not included in this part of the statistical data of aquatic products trade, so as to maintain the consistency of the full text of the statistical data of aquatic products trade.
About the author:
Gao Hongquan is a researcher at the Chinese Fisheries Society, National aquatic Technology Extension Station
Gao Xiang, Ph.D., Assistant Researcher, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
This article is from the "China Fishery Economy" 2023, volume 41, issue 2, the full text has been deleted, the full version, please check the China National Knowledge network.
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