Chinese eel export situation

The nutritional value of eel is very high, known as the soft gold in water, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences processing research Institute experimental results show that the total cholesterol content of eel is about 150mg/100g, and known as the "blood vessel scavger" of high density lipoprotein ratio of 60.2%-66.1%, is conducive to human cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.

Eels are generally found in the boundary waters of salt and fresh water, and there are more than 20 kinds of eel in the world, such as Japanese eel, European eel, and American eel, among which Japanese eel is the most. It is understood that China is the world's largest eel farming and processing market, but also an eel export country, Japan sold more than 60% of the eel from China.

More than 60% of the grilled unagi sold in Japan comes from China, which is now the world's largest eel breeder and exporter. According to the relevant data of the General Administration of Customs, the international market share of China's export eel remains above 95%, and the main export types of eel are roast eel and live eel. In 2021, China exported a total of 70,800 tons of eel products, of which 59,800 tons of roasted eel was exported, an increase of 40% year-on-year; The export of live eels was 10,100 tons, an increase of 5% year-on-year.

At present, although Japan still ranks first in the export of eel products in China, in recent years, the eel industry in China has made continuous efforts to expand the market, and the proportion of eel products to Japan has continued to decline.

Although the scope of China's eel export has expanded to more than 40 countries and regions, the current export price of China's eel products still has a large room for improvement, and the pricing power of eel products in the international market is still mainly controlled by Japan. Chinese grilled and live eels still sell for less than their Japanese counterparts.

For example, in August 2022, the same finished product specification is 250 grams per tail of grilled eel, the wholesale price of grilled eel in Japan is 384 yuan, and the wholesale price of Chinese products in the Japanese market is 170 yuan, less than half of the local grilled eel in Japan. In terms of live eels, the Japanese market has increased its recognition of live eels produced in China in recent years, believing that the quality is stable and the taste is not inferior to that of eel produced in Japan.