China buys over ¥2 billion worth of lobster from Western Australia

From the ocean depths to dinner within 24 hours

A lobster fished off Australian waters can arrive on your plate in China in less than 24 hours, thanks to booming trade between both countries that’s set to grow even better.

The Western Rock Lobster fishery catches about 500 million Australian dollars worth of lobster, and 80 percent are destined to be air freighted to China.

Previously, high tariffs on Australian seafood forced exporters to use third party forwarders in Hong Kong and Vietnam to avoid taxes, but a 2015 free trade agreement between China and Australia have lowered barriers to the mainland market. Australian producers are taking advantage by setting up their own supply chains.

“We’re already starting to see a lot of shift in the market where there’s lot of interest in direct trade,” said Wayne Hosking of Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative, the biggest player in the fishery with about 60 percent of production. “In fact if you go back a year or so ago, 1 or 2 percent was going in direct. In the last couple of months we’ve done over 50 percent direct, so it’s having fundamental change.”

Last year, the company opened a live export factory next to the Perth airport to improve shipping times to China, which now takes less than 20 hours, and they have lobster holding tanks in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. They also sell directly to consumers as well as traditional food channels.

“Time is everything in exporting live lobsters so it’s cut down the total transit time which increases the quality and survival of the product, which the market really values,” Hosking said.

But concerns have been raised about focusing on the Chinese market. In a list last year, the West Rock Lobster Council outlined concerns that the industry faced, with its reliance on a single market topping the list. Oversupply could lead to a drop in prices in China, and cheaper exports from other countries might undercut Australia’s dominance.

But Hosking believes China is worth it.

“Our old markets like Japan used to like lobster, but the Chinese revere it,” he said. “It’s an extraordinary market; I don’t think we have ever seen anything like it in the past [and] I don’t think we ever will again in the future.”