A pier at three in the morning, a chilled hall that only opens in the late afternoon, foam boxes stacked waist high — China's seafood wholesale market is not simply "a place that sells fish." It is a supply network where fishing ports, landing quays, border inspection points, processing plants and cold stores sit within a few dozen kilometers of one another. This guide is written for two readers: the overseas buyer sourcing seafood from China for the first time, and the newcomer who walks into one of these markets without yet knowing the difference between a trading agent and a stall.
Note: this article is a factual introduction to market structure and buying practice. It does not represent any merchant, and it is not a quotation or a sales recommendation. Trading hours, tenancy and market layout change; confirm details with the market operator before you travel.
Many buyers picture a Chinese seafood wholesale market as one large wet market. Walk into one and you find something closer to an exchange with a pier attached: upstream are trawlers and aquaculture ponds, downstream are processing plants, restaurants and export containers.
The operating model differs from Toyosu in Tokyo, Garak Market in Seoul and Rungis outside Paris. The difference is not scale but structure — and that structure determines what you can buy, how you buy it, and which steps you have to control.
Live product comes off a pond or a boat and reaches a holding tank within hours. Imported cargo clears at Nansha, Yantian or Mawei and is drayed straight into the market. The "market price" you hear is three things moving at once: ex-farm price, landed import price, and today's arrivals.
Chinese consumers place a premium on live freshness, so mainstream markets are built around recirculating tanks rather than ice beds. One building may hold coral trout, mud crab, king crab and giant freshwater prawn at the same time. That live-holding and tank-separation capability is uncommon in many markets.
The live peak runs from the small hours to early morning. Chilled product moves in the late afternoon and early evening, when boats land, sort and ship the same day. Frozen stalls trade normal daytime hours. The most common first-visit mistake is arriving at ten in the morning and finding only pack-down and hose-down.
East China Sea small yellow croaker, South China Sea grouper, Ecuadorian white shrimp, Norwegian salmon, Russian king crab and Fujian abalone can be bought on the same street. For buyers consolidating mixed loads or testing small orders, that one-stop density is the main value.
Many units in a Chinese market are hang (trading houses): they sell on commission, buy on your behalf, pack and book cold chain. They hold the production relationships and sailing schedules, but earn from spread and commission. Understanding that role matters more than memorizing shop names, because price levels, payment terms and supply stability all come through them.
There is no stable price list. The same product can carry two prices on the same day, and holidays, typhoons or a delayed sailing will move it again. When you quote your own customer, state a validity period — otherwise currency or landing volume alone can eat the margin.
Compared with Toyosu, Rungis and Southeast Asian landing markets, the gap is structural rather than a matter of size. Toyosu is built on standardized grading and auction; Rungis on licensed wholesalers and contract distribution. Chinese seafood markets rely far more on flexible matchmaking between stalls: you can find product today, change the spec today, pack and ship today — at the cost of uneven standardization, which means inspection, net weight and paperwork stay your responsibility.
| Dimension | China mainstream seafood market | Toyosu-type market (Japan) | Rungis-type market (Europe) | Southeast Asia landing market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading method | Stall-level negotiation, agent matchmaking, cash or mobile payment | Auction plus registered brokers, standardized process | Licensed wholesalers, contracts and credit terms | Spot trading on the floor, price follows landings |
| Share of live product | High; holding tanks are core infrastructure | Medium-high; chilled and frozen both significant | Medium; cold chain and pre-packing more developed | High, but preservation infrastructure is uneven |
| Category breadth | Very wide; domestic and imported in the same market | Wide, with a large imported share | Wide; European waters plus imports | Narrow; mostly local catch |
| Standardization | Weak to moderate: size grade, net weight and glaze must be confirmed line by line | Strong: grading, labeling, traceability | Strong: packing, temperature control, documents | Weak; experience and eye judgment dominate |
| Export support | Packing, cold storage, customs brokerage and forwarders around the market | Mature but costly | Mature, with high compliance cost | Limited; often routed via a third country |
| Barrier for a newcomer | Low barrier to enter, high barrier to buy correctly | Barrier is licensing and cost | Barrier is compliance and contracts | Barrier is consistency of quality |
This table is a qualitative structural comparison, intended to set expectations for first-time buyers rather than to rank markets. Actual trading rules are set by each market operator.
There is no "best market," only the market that fits this particular shipment. Before choosing one, answer three questions: live or frozen, south China or east/north, and do you need the market to handle processing and export support?
| Market | City | Positioning and strengths | Best for | First-visit note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huangsha Seafood Trading Market 黄沙水产交易市场 LiveImported |
Liwan, Guangzhou | Opened 1994; one of the largest live seafood wholesale markets in China, with 200-plus species from more than 20 countries. The Huangsha Aquatic Center (about 110,000 m², roughly 800 merchants) opened in September 2025. | Live product, imported mid-to-high-end seafood, south China distribution and export | The legacy market and the new center coexist — confirm which site you are going to. Busiest before dawn. |
| Xingcheng Aquatic Products Trading Center (Mawei) 名成海峡水产品交易中心 ChilledDistant-water |
Mawei, Fuzhou | Over 350,000 m², more than 1,000 merchants, 150,000 t of cold storage and a dedicated fisheries wharf; a key consolidation point for distant-water catch and an import gateway for aquatic products. | Chilled product, distant-water catch, imported frozen goods, Southeast Asia re-export | The chilled hall mostly opens in the afternoon and evening; a morning visit shows only leftovers. |
| Dongfang International Aquatic Center 东方国际水产中心 DistributionFrozen |
Yangpu, Shanghai | Comprehensive aquatic wholesale market established in 2006, serving distribution across the Yangtze River Delta city cluster. | East China secondary wholesale, restaurant supply chains, frozen LCL consolidation | Distribution-led; origin pricing is weaker than at production-area markets. |
| Jingshen Seafood Market 京深海鲜市场 North ChinaLive |
Fengtai, Beijing | One of the larger seafood consolidation and retail-wholesale mixed markets in north China. | North China distribution, direct restaurant supply, small trial orders | Strong retail character; for volume, negotiate the wholesale basis and minimum order quantity. |
| Zhoushan International Aquatic City 舟山国际水产城 OriginCoastal |
Zhoushan, Zhejiang | Built on the Zhoushan fishing grounds; consolidates coastal and distant-water catch with strong origin characteristics. | Chasing origin pricing; East China Sea species such as hairtail, pomfret and swimming crab | Heavily exposed to weather and sailing schedules — allow waiting time. |
| Zhanjiang seafood market 湛江水产市场 ShrimpFarmed |
Zhanjiang, Guangdong | A concentrated shrimp-farming and processing-export area with stable farmed supply. | Long-term orders for white shrimp, tilapia and other farmed species | Processing-plant access matters more than stall access — schedule plant visits too. |
| Chengyang Aquatic Products Wholesale Market 城阳水产品批发市场 North ChinaFrozen |
Qingdao, Shandong | A significant frozen and chilled consolidation point in the north, close to processing and export clusters. | North China frozen goods; exports to Japan, Korea, Europe and the US | For frozen product, check net weight and glaze — not carton weight. |
| Luohu / Luofang seafood area and the Pinghu new park 罗湖 / 罗芳水产片区 BorderHK supply |
Shenzhen, Guangdong | Adjacent to Wenjindu and Liantang border crossings, with a mature Hong Kong and cross-border fresh chain. Merchants from the former Luohu, Luofang and Buji clusters are consolidating into the Pinghu Haijixing International Aquatic Products Logistics Park. | Hong Kong supply, cross-border e-commerce fresh, small high-frequency replenishment | The border area is mid-transition; confirm which side your target merchants have moved to. |
Beyond the well-known hubs above, China has a group of very large regional markets. They often do not specialize in seafood: they combine fruit and vegetables, seafood, frozen goods and dried goods in one site, or they lead on freshwater fish and frozen product. For an overseas buyer, sorting the type before deciding whether to visit saves a lot of time.
Zhoushan, Zhanjiang and Mawei depend on boats and ponds. Prices sit closer to cost, but weather and sailing schedules make waiting normal. Good for single-species long-term contracts, not for assembling twenty species in three days.
Huangsha, Shanghai Jiangyang and Jiangyang North Road sit next to airports and ports, so imports distribute on landing. Widest range, fastest information, but the price carries gateway and distribution cost.
Beijing Jingshen, Wuhan Baishazhou and Changsha Mawangdui serve local restaurants and supermarkets. Short delivery radius, fast response — best if you already have a channel there and need steady replenishment.
Shenzhen Haijixing and Zhengzhou Wanbang are farm-produce flagships where seafood is one section. The advantage is fruit, vegetables, frozen goods, dried goods and seasonings in one trip — suited to mixed container loads or setting up a local sourcing office.
| Market | City | Type | Scale and characteristics | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen Haijixing International Agricultural Products Logistics Park 深圳海吉星国际农产品物流园 IntegratedSZ–HK |
Pinghu Bainikeng, Longgang, Shenzhen | Integrated farm produce (tier 1) | Opened autumn 2011, fully operational 2012; about 300,000 m² with close to 3,000 permanent merchants. Shenzhen's only national-level tier-1 agricultural wholesale market; media reports say roughly 80% of the city's food passes through it, with daily vegetable volume peaking in the thousands of tonnes. | Assembling fruit, vegetables, seafood and dried goods in one Shenzhen stop; understanding the Shenzhen–Hong Kong supply system |
| Shenzhen Haijixing International Aquatic Products Logistics Park 深圳海吉星国际水产品物流园 SeafoodLeasing |
Pinghu, Longgang, Shenzhen | Seafood tier 1 (new build) | RMB 3.65 billion investment by Shenzhen Agricultural Products Group; total floor area about 439,200 m²; planned zones for large live product, shellfish, shrimp and crab, small aquatic species and premium imported seafood, with professional holding tanks and multi-temperature cold storage and centralized seawater, ice and oxygen supply. 15 minutes to Wenjindu crossing, 30 minutes to Yantian port. Public reporting says it is intended to carry more than 90% of Shenzhen's seafood wholesale supply once complete. | Tracking Shenzhen's future main seafood channel; confirm it is actually open before travelling |
| Shanghai Jiangyang Aquatic Products Wholesale Market 上海江阳水产品批发交易市场 ImportedDistribution |
Taihe Road, Baoshan, Shanghai | Gateway + destination | Established around 2006 on more than 200 mu (about 13 ha) with over 1,700 shop units. After Tongchuan Road market closed in 2016, more than a thousand merchants moved here. Daily wholesale volume exceeds 1,000 t; a key imported seafood hub for Shanghai and the Yangtze Delta. | East China imported seafood and frozen distribution; restaurant supply chains |
| Shanghai Jiangyang North Road Aquatic Products Wholesale Market 上海江杨水产品批发市场 ScaleFrozen |
Jiangyang North Road, Baoshan, Shanghai | Destination | One of Shanghai's largest aquatic wholesale markets, with over a thousand shop units, cold storage and ice/oxygen supply; full range of frozen, chilled and shellfish lines. | East China volume distribution; easily confused with the Taihe Road market — check the street address before navigating |
| Wuhan Baishazhou Agricultural Products Market 武汉白沙洲农副产品大市场 FreshwaterCentral China |
Hongshan, Wuhan | Integrated farm produce (freshwater strength) | 470 mu (about 31 ha); the seafood zone covers about 33,000 m² with its own access gate. Around 80% of supply is local to Hubei. Full range of the four major freshwater carp, eel, crayfish, bullfrog and soft-shell turtle, with holdings reaching thousands of tonnes. Buying peaks in the afternoon. | Freshwater fish and crayfish from central China; a freshwater hub that buys and sells nationally |
| Zhengzhou Wanbang International Agricultural Products Logistics City 郑州万邦国际农产品物流城 FrozenInland |
Zhongmou, Zhengzhou | Integrated farm produce (frozen strength) | The aquatic frozen zone opened November 2013 with more than 2,800 permanent merchants, zoned for frozen goods, seafood and freshwater fish, plus large low-temperature cold storage. A key frozen seafood cold-chain hub for the central plains. | Inland replenishment, north China frozen distribution, mixed container assembly |
| Changsha Mawangdui Seafood Market 长沙马王堆海鲜水产市场 SeafoodCentral |
Jiayu Road, Furong, Changsha | Destination (seafood) | One of the larger seafood wholesale markets in south-central China, with a full range of shrimp, crab, shellfish and fish, fast turnover of imported seafood, and both wholesale and restaurant functions. | Central China seafood distribution, direct restaurant supply, small high-frequency replenishment |
1. Buji Seafood Wholesale Market in Shenzhen closed permanently in July 2020 — more than 500 businesses relocated because of high-speed rail construction. Plenty of online guides still recommend it, and following them wastes a day; the former merchants moved mainly to the newer markets around Pinghu.
2. Shanghai's "Jiangyang" and "Jiangyang North Road" are two different markets, on Taihe Road and Jiangyang North Road respectively, with different scale, range and customer base. Many Chinese guides conflate them. Copy the street address into your map app and check the door number before booking a car.
Which market fits which need:
The beginner's usual failure is not weak bargaining — it is arriving without having settled market access, specification basis and settlement terms beforehand. The sequence below follows the real rhythm of a buying trip and doubles as a working checklist for the first visit.
The rhythm on site is roughly: price discovery in the morning, chilled product in the afternoon, live product before dawn. Agree the specification basis before you discuss price, and buy a small sample of anything you are unsure about.
2–4 weeks before departure
This matters more than picking product. Confirm four things: whether the destination country permits the species (some crabs, abalone and sturgeon lines fall under endangered-species permits), whether the processing plant or vessel is on the destination's registered list, which certificates are required (health certificate, certificate of origin, inspection and quarantine certificate), and labeling and language rules. If any of these is unresolved, the best cargo still will not clear.
1 week before departure
Choose the market by category (see the previous section), then match the window: live product peaks from the small hours to early morning, chilled halls mostly open in the late afternoon, frozen stalls run normal daytime hours. Check whether a typhoon, the fishing moratorium or a public holiday falls in your window — all three distort both price and arrivals at the same time.
First 30 minutes on site
Spend half an hour building a price baseline: visit five to eight sellers in the same category and look at who is actually shipping, who is sorting, whose door has a reefer truck parked outside. Stalls moving volume usually have steadier supply and prices closer to the real market. Those displaying samples without shipping are often second-hand resellers.
Choosing a counterparty
Owner-operated stalls hold their own production or vessel allocation: less price flexibility, steadier supply. Trading agents broker on commission, can assemble multiple species and handle packing and dispatch, but add a layer of margin. On a first purchase, go with the party willing to take you into the cold store and show you the whole lot.
Inspection, 20–40 minutes
Do not judge from the top layer. Ask them to open cartons, pull the bottom, and sample three random spots. For live product, read the water color and the animals' movement in the holding tank. For chilled product, check that ice covers evenly and that no blood water has pooled in the carton base. If the batch does not match the sample, say so on the spot — not after loading.
Negotiation, 10 minutes
(1) Unit of pricing — jin, kilogram, piece or carton. (2) Net or gross weight. (3) With or without glaze — the glazing percentage. (4) Packing included or not — foam box, gel pack, oxygen bag. (5) Minimum order quantity and whether LCL consolidation is allowed. The same sentence — "this price" — can differ sharply across those five bases.
Weighing
Ask for the empty carton to be tared to zero, then re-weigh yourself after the goods are on the scale, or verify on the market's public scale. For loose product, watch whether basket, ice and water weight are being counted. This is not distrust; it is the routine the trade itself expects.
Settlement
The receipt (or handwritten note) must state: date, stall number, product name, specification, quantity, unit price, total, whether glaze or packing is included, and payment method, signed or stamped. For larger amounts, use a bank transfer so there is a record. Ask in advance whether a formal invoice (fapiao) can be issued.
Packing and pre-chilling
Live: oxygen bags or moisture-retaining boxes chosen by species, never packed too dense. Chilled: layer ice, layer fish, roughly 1:1, with drainage at the carton base. Frozen: insulated box with dry ice or gel packs, and no repeated thawing. Require the goods to be brought down to temperature before packing; sealing warm product is the main cause of arrival loss.
Drayage and export
Around the market you will normally find cold storage, reefer drayage, customs brokers and forwarders. Ask for door-to-door and port-to-port quotes separately: does it include customs declaration, port surcharges, destination charges? If not, the gap shows up as unbudgeted cost at the end. Our FCL sea freight and consolidated shipment pages set out what each basis covers.
Before container loading
Photograph the whole lot, the sealed cartons, the labels and the thermometer reading before loading, and record batch number and production date. If a quality dispute arises at destination, this is the only evidence that speaks. For high-value cargo, add a temperature data logger.
After you get home
Work out actual yield (net weight after thawing against gross weight landed), loss rate and true landed cost. Keep one reliable contact each for stall, cold store and customs broker. Your second trip will run at twice the speed.
| Term | Meaning | Why you must confirm it |
|---|---|---|
| jin (斤) | Chinese market catty: 1 jin = 500 g = 0.5 kg | Quote in jin, contract in kilograms — the most common conversion error in the trade |
| piece / carton / pallet (件 / 箱 / 板) | A unit of one carton or one pallet; carton spec differs by stall | "How many jin in a carton" varies widely — always ask for net weight |
| size grade 30/40 | Count per pound (or per kilogram); the lower the number, the larger the individual | Mislabeled grade is the most common trick on frozen shrimp |
| glaze / ice glaze (冰衣 / 包冰) | The protective ice layer on frozen product, priced as a percentage | 10% versus 30% glaze on the same carton weight is a tenth of the cargo |
| net / gross weight (净重 / 毛重) | Net is the product alone; gross includes ice, water and carton | If the quote is silent, the seller defines the basis at settlement |
| yield (出成率) | Usable share after thawing, heading and peeling | Yield sets your real cost, not the headline unit price |
| holding / oxygenation (暂养 / 打氧) | Keeping live product in recirculating tanks; oxygen packing at dispatch | Over-long holding loses condition and cuts survival rate |
| drayage (短驳) | Short haul from market to cold store or port | Often buried inside "freight" — ask for it as its own line |
| credit terms (账期) | Ship now, settle later | Newcomers rarely get terms — don't get caught by "we'll square up next time" |
Inspection is not a vague judgment about "how fresh it looks." It is a set of actions you can complete on the spot. The standards below are what buyers actually use on the floor.
One extra check for crab: press the base of the second-to-last leg. Hard and full means the crab is well filled; soft or hollow means it has not been fed up. For shellfish: tap the shell — closing means alive; open shells that stay open, or any off-odor, means dead or damaged product.
Chilled seafood is the category that most tests the eye, and where newcomers lose the most money. Look at five points: eyes (full and clear, not sunken or milky), gills (bright red, no dark brown), surface mucus (clear and thin, not cloudy or stringy), flesh elasticity (springs back when pressed), and belly and vent (not swollen, no leaking). Then one more: whether the ice bed covers the product evenly and whether blood water has pooled at the carton base — pooled blood usually means the cargo has thawed at least once.
| Category | Key indicators | Pass state | Common disguise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live fish | Movement, gill color, body surface | Holds upright, bright gills, intact scales | Recently dead but not yet rigid, sold as live; weight loss from long holding |
| Live crab | Fullness, movement | Hard leg base, can right itself | Hollow "water crab"; inferior grade substituted; weight added by binding |
| Live shrimp | Flick response, body color | Strong flick, translucent shell | Chilled in ice water to "look alive" |
| Chilled fish | Eyes, gills, elasticity, ice bed | Clear eyes, red gills, springs back | Re-iced after thawing; old stock mixed with new |
| Frozen shrimp | Grade, glaze, core temperature | Consistent grade, thin clear glaze | Grade overstated; heavy glaze displacing net weight |
| Shellfish | Shell-closing response, purging | Closes when tapped, no off-odor | Dead shellfish mixed in; weighed before purging |
| Cephalopods | Flesh elasticity, color | White, springy, no ammonia smell | Soaked in solution to add weight; repeated thawing |
| Dried seafood | Dryness, aroma, color | Dry to touch, natural color, clean smell | Weight added with sugar or salt; sulfur bleaching; rehydrated stock |
The product range is extremely wide, and for a buyer the bigger risk is usually specification basis and seasonal window rather than species selection: one grade up or one month earlier changes both the price and the end use.
Frozen shrimp meat, fish portions, marinated fish and breaded shrimp are more standardized than live product and suit long-term contracts and supermarket channels. What matters is net weight, glaze, additive compliance and plant approval — not whether the piece looks big.
Dried scallop, dried squid, dried shrimp, fish maw, sea cucumber and swim bladder. High value, small volume, low freight share — the easiest category for a first trial order, and also where sugar/salt weight-loading and sulfur bleaching concentrate.
These are not horror stories; they are routine mechanisms in the trade. Almost every first-time loss traces back to one of them, and nearly all can be avoided with one sentence written down before payment.
The basket, the ice and the water are all on the scale. On low-value product that can be a tenth of what you pay. What to do: specify net weight; ask for the empty basket to be tared; stand at the scale while it is weighed.
Two cartons of the same quoted weight can differ by 15–20% in actual product. The glaze is legal and necessary; the problem is when it is priced as fish. What to do: write the glazing percentage and net weight into the contract, and check one carton by thawing a sample.
Some shrimp, shellfish and cephalopods are soaked to gain weight; the giveaway is a puddle in the bag, a spongy texture and rapid drip loss after thawing. What to do: weigh a sample, wait twenty minutes, weigh again. If it loses a lot of liquid, the price is not the price.
Sampling from a good tank and loading from a different one is the most common substitution, and it is invisible unless you are present. What to do: mark the cartons, photograph the lot, and do not leave the loading area while the goods are being moved.
Chilled-down animals that still look alive, and farmed product priced as wild-caught, are both routine. What to do: check reflex and rigidity, ask for landing or pond records, and treat origin claims as unverified unless a certificate supports them.
30/40 sold as 20/30 is a price difference with no visible change in the carton. What to do: count ten pieces from a random carton and weigh them; grade is arithmetic, not opinion.
One seller quotes per jin, another per kilogram, a third per carton, and a fourth per piece. Converted to the same basis, the "cheapest" quote is often not. What to do: put every quote on a single basis — net kilogram, delivered to the cold store — before comparing.
Cheap foam boxes, thin ice, no drainage, warm product sealed in — the carton arrives lighter and wetter, and the loss is yours. What to do: agree the packing spec in writing (box type, ice ratio, gel pack count) and pay for it as a separate line.
"Leave it with me, I'll sell it and settle later" gives the seller your cargo and all the discretion, with no price floor. What to do: avoid consignment on a first deal; if you accept credit, cap the exposure and put the settlement date in writing.
One forwarder quotes port-to-port, another door-to-door, a third excludes destination charges or plug-in fees. What to do: compare only on the same basis, and ask explicitly what is excluded: drayage, plug-in, inspection, storage, destination THC.
Heading, gutting and peeling are priced by weight in, weight out, or a flat fee — three very different economics. A 60% yield at a low unit price can cost more than 70% at a higher one. What to do: request yield by species, in writing, and price the finished kilogram.
An agent who promises everything, asks for a deposit before any lot is shown, and cannot name the stall he works with, is a risk. What to do: meet at the stall, see the goods, pay against goods — not against a promise. Deposits go to a company account, never to a personal one.
Species not permitted at destination, plant not registered, health certificate missing, label not in the required language — the container stops at the border and the cargo becomes a storage bill. What to do: settle market access before you buy, and get the document list from your broker in writing.
If a dispute cannot be settled at the stall, the next stop is the market management office, which keeps merchant records and handles complaints on site. Consumer disputes can go to 12315; commercial disputes between companies usually end in negotiation or arbitration rather than a consumer channel. Neither route recovers the freight you have already paid, which is why the evidence matters more than the argument.
Buyers usually budget for goods value and freight, and forget the middle. On seafood the middle is where the margin lives — cold chain, packing, loss and the cost of money.
Relative shares below are indicative, based on typical reefer and air shipments of chilled or frozen seafood from south China; they are not a quotation. Actual shares move with species, value density, season and routing — confirm with your carrier and forwarder.
Bar length shows relative share, not absolute cost. On a low-value, heavy cargo such as shellfish, freight can exceed goods value; on high-value live crab and dried seafood, freight is a small fraction and loss control dominates. Ask for a reefer quote with plug-in, drayage and inspection broken out — see warehouse and cold storage.
Three items almost nobody books:
Seafood is one of the most document-intensive categories in international trade. Compliance is not paperwork added at the end — it decides whether the cargo can be bought at all.
The seller or trading company needs export rights and, for aquatic products, registration with the customs authority; processing plants and vessels must be on the destination country's approved list for many markets. Licensing is the market, not the stall.
Chilled and frozen seafood normally requires inspection and quarantine, and the destination usually demands a health certificate issued in the exporting country, matching the consignment lot by lot.
Some species — certain abalone, sturgeon caviar, some sharks and corals — fall under CITES or national protection rules. A permit is required before departure, not after arrival; a missing permit means the cargo is seized.
Labels must carry species name, net weight, production date, batch, plant registration number and storage conditions — in the language the destination requires. Traceability from lot to plant is now the norm in the EU, US and Japan.
A reefer set point is easy to promise and hard to prove. Ask for the container's temperature log at destination and use a data logger on high-value lots; a single break in the chain can void the insurance claim.
Duty depends on species, product form (live, fresh, chilled, frozen, prepared) and HS code, not on the invoice description. A certificate of origin can reduce or eliminate duty under an applicable agreement — confirm the code before booking.
Document requirements are set by the destination country and change. Confirm the current list with your customs broker and with the destination's import authority before the container is booked; nothing in this article substitutes for that confirmation.
Five frames in the order a buying trip actually moves: the quay, the frontage, the chilled hall, the cold store, the frozen line.
These are still photographs arranged as a motion sequence along the actual buying route, not footage shot inside the market. Interior shooting conditions are difficult, and most halls restrict filming; a sequence of frames is the honest way to show the layout.
Seventeen answers, written for someone who has never bought seafood in China and needs to know what to expect on the first trip.
Tell us the species, the temperature regime, the volume and the destination. You get a reefer or air plan with drayage, documentation and destination charges written out line by line — before you commit to the cargo.