Updated Oct. 28 to add link to Chinese translation

VICTORIA - B.C. producers exported a record-setting $80 million worth of seafood to China in 2010, and sales for this year are on pace to break it, with representatives from about 30 B.C. seafood companies and organizations embarking on the largest-ever B.C. seafood trade mission to China, said Agriculture Minister Don McRae.

"Increasing B.C. seafood exports results in new dollars coming to B.C. and new jobs in our coastal communities and throughout the seafood processing and distribution chain," said McRae. "2011 is shaping up to be another record year for B.C. seafood exports to China, with sales between January and August 2011, 30 percent higher than the record-setting pace of 2010."

Statistics in the 2010 B.C. Seafood Year in Review highlight the exports of crabs, geoducks, salmon, hake and herring as the products behind China's emergence as B.C.'s third-largest export market for seafood. Overall, seafood exports to Asia increased 16 per cent in 2010 to $325 million, and represented about one-third of all B.C. seafood exports.

Exports to China have increased through marketing efforts as well as infrastructure investments in B.C. that attract trade such as four weekly direct cargo flights from YVR to Shanghai that began in July of this year.

The B.C. Seafood Year in Review is an annual statistical report that details the harvests and wholesale value of different seafood products and sectors. The 2010 report summarizes 472 distinct fish and seafood commodities produced in B.C. that created a combined wholesale value of $1.4 billion. It is available at: http://bcseafood.ca/PDFs/YIR-2010.pdf

A Chinese translation is available at: http://bcseafood.ca/PDFs/Chinese-YIR-2010.pdf

When combined with other B.C. agriculture products, the total 2010 exports to China exceeded $118 million, the most ever. 2011 is also on target to set a new sales record for B.C. agri-food exports to China.

Media Contact:

Niki Pandachuck
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Agriculture
250 387-1693