Argentine squid is experiencing significant growth in the Chinese market
China imported a record 12,542 tonnes of frozen squid from Argentina in May this year, with a total value of $42.5 million, according to the latest data from Chinese customs. The surge was attributed to heavy fishing by Argentine fishing vessels, which in the first half of 2024 in reached 153,000 tonnes, up 54% year-on-year.
The increase not only broke Argentina's previous monthly import record set in April 2019, but also significantly met China's growing domestic demand for squid. in the first five months of 2024, China's squid imports from Argentina totalled 18,215 tonnes, more than double that of the same period a year earlier, and lifted to a total value of US$60.9 million.
The large volume of imports led to a significant drop in squid prices on the Chinese market. Data showed that the price of large whole frozen Argentine squid (over 600 grams) fell by 13 percent in the past two weeks to 33,000 yuan ($4,940) per tonne. Prices for small and medium-sized squid have also fallen 3-4% to return to last year's levels, with 300-400g squid at CNY31,000/tonne; 200-300g squid at CNY29,750/tonne; and 150-200g squid at CNY32,250/tonne.
Meanwhile, Chinese fishing vessels are fishing for large flying squid in the waters off Peru, which is expected to continue until the end of November to early December, after which they will move to the Southwest Atlantic to continue fishing for Argentine squid. However, despite the continued fishing activity, the price of large flying squid remains high and fishing conditions are not favourable.
Notably, China's imports of squid from Peru have declined sharply this year, both in volume and value, by 90 per cent year-on-year, demonstrating the changing dynamics of the international seafood market.
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