Shanghai Shanhaiji Supply Chain looking to diversify beyond Chinese market

Chinese rainbow trout producer Shanghai Shanhaiji Supply Chain has begun to diversify its sales beyond its domestic market. 

Founded in 2014, Shanghai Shanhaiji Supply Chain farms what's known locally as salmon-trout in Xinjiang province's Tianshan Mountains. The company touts the fact that its fish are raised in a freshwater reservoir fed by mountain streams.

“We’re raising rainbow trout because of the natural advantage of our glacial mountain water,” Shanghai Shanhaiji General Manager Susan Zhang told SeafoodSource at Seafood Expo Asia, which ran from 11 to 13 September in Singapore. “Our company’s scientific research department is also developing the breeding of other coldwater fish species, but we’re still mainly farming rainbow trout.”

Zhang said her firm has control over most of its supply chain, from hatchery through primary processing, and its Ready-To-Eat Salmon Trout product proved popular with judges at the inaugural Seafood Excellence Asia Awards, where won third place. 

Zhang said her firm produces 15,000 metric tons of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified rainbow trout annually, with most of that total sold domestically. In China, the BAP certification a strong signifier of food safety, Zhang said.

“Our company also utilizes the BAP standard management process, combined with the company’s digital traceability process, to guarantee the traceability of each fish from source to end,” Zhang said.

This year, Zhang is making a push to sell beyond China's borders, according to Zhang.

“We have very high expectations for the Southeast Asian market at this stage,” Zhang said. “Since the beginning of this year, when we first explored the international market, our product has been favored by customers from Southeast Asian countries and we hope to make more and better products for the southeast Asian market.”  

Photo by Chris Chase/SeafoodSource