With China's crayfish back on the market, Tianhe Aquatic courts international buyers

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down exports, Chinese crayfish is available to international buyers, and it's in high demand, according to Kang Sun Yu, the general manager of Zhejiang, China-based Tianhe Aquatic Company.

Tianhe Aquatic is a producer and marketer of crayfish, and Kang said the product has become more popular across China as well as in Europe and the United States, especially among the Chinese diaspora living abroad.

He said there's been a surge in interest in the company's crayfish since it became available again to the international community, following the November 2022 end of severe Covid-related restrictions in China that had been in place over the past two years.

“Crayfish is one of the biggest items right now in China’s aquatic production. Mostly we are working for the Chinese market. We also export to America and Europe, [because there are[ a lot of Chinese people in foreign countries,” Yu told SeafoodSource.

China's crayfish season lasts from April to June, creating intense seasonal interest, which is peaking now as the season opens, Yu said.

In 2010, Tianhe Aquatic constructed a 100,000-square-meter facility in Zhejiang, partially in response to rising crayfish demand, though the company also processes a variety of other seafood products.

The facility also allowed Tianhe Aquatic to further explore value addition for crayfish. It has achieved popularity with its whole crayfish with spicy sauce and its crayfish tail meat, which are primarily sold to customers in the U.S. and Northern Europe.

Photo courtesy of Min Jing/Shutterstock