Chinese fish farmers are facing higher costs after Beijing imposed a 100% tariff on Canadian rapeseed – which is used as aquafeed – in retaliation to Canadian duties on electric cars, steel and aluminium, according to a Bloomberg report.
Worth about US$780M in 2024, the Chinese fish trade had become uneconomical since the introduction of the tariff, the 1 April report said.
China has the world’s largest aquaculture industry, producing almost 60M tonnes of fish and shellfish in 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Popular as an aquafeed, rapeseed meal was an important source of protein and Canada was the leading overseas supplier of the commodity to China, Bloomberg wrote.
Although the effect on Chinese rapeseed meal futures had been minimal to date, rising 3% since the tariff was imposed on 10 March, a supply crunch that pushed seafood prices higher could develop if Beijing introduced levies on canola itself – a crop that China imported in larger volumes than meal - and now subject to an ongoing anti-dumping probe.
A number of options were open to Chinese fish farmers: use more domestic rapeseed or crush more imported canola; find other exporters; or look to substitute proteins like soyabean meal, Bloomberg said.
Although soyabeans are a more expensive oilseed normally fed to livestock, some feed producers had already adjusted their recipes to reduce the ratio of rapeseed meal and replace it with soyabeans, Meng Zhangyu, an analyst with Wuchan Zhongda Futures Co, was quoted as saying.
“But if trade relations continue to worsen and China imposes tariffs on Canadian canola … it is hard to find substitute suppliers,” Zhangyu added.
Russia or Australia could be alternative suppliers but would not be able to replace Canada’s supply, he said.
