Mark Godfrey is an Irish journalist covering the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Asia, with a focus on China. Proficient in Mandarin, he has frequently traveled across China's fisheries and aquaculture regions and learned the inner workings of China's corporate world during a nearly three-year stint at the Financial Times' “China Confidential” publication. He has also reported widely across Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. He has educational certificates in agriculture and food science, as well as Mandarin.
Author Archive
China, in defiance of global trends, recorded surging shrimp imports in 2023, purchasing over 1 million metric tons (MT) amid a global supply glut in which demand in other major markets has plummeted.
However, the country’s gloomy economic prospects have experts wary of guaranteeing whether that demand will continue into 2024.
“It is hard to say whether 2024 will witness a further increase on vannamei imports to China,”
… Read More
A new report on the growth of China’s squid industry is predicting continued growth due to government support, investor appetite, and growing consumer demand.
The report, released by Guangzhou-based Heng Zhou Chengsi, also known as YH Research, notes government support through subsidies has led to investors backing several companies involved in tuna processing, including Ocean Family.
The actions of municipal governments in several
… Read More
Entobel, a Singapore-based insect protein producer with operations in Vietnam, has signed a strategic partnership with Vietnamese pangasius producer and processor Vinh Hoan which entails the latter company buying a substantial volume of insect protein for use in aquafeed through its subsidiary Feed One.
Through the strategic partnership, Vinh Hoan will purchase at least 15,000 metric tons (MT) of insect protein – derived from black soldier
… Read More
Oversupply of shrimp from major Latin American producers – particularly Ecuador – is causing headaches for producers in Southeast Asia.
Benjamin Saw, the general manager of Malaysian shrimp producer Arus Nagamas Private Limited, based in the country’s Kota Kuala Mudah region, said his firm traditionally relied on strong Chinese demand to suck up supply and stabilize prices in the region. But, the influx of Latin American supply
… Read More
The Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF) has discontinued a scorecard that ranked Hong Kong retailers on their seafood sustainability efforts.
The ranking began as an idea presented in 2014 for a sustainable seafood guide for consumers in Hong Kong. The WWF issued its “Scorecard on Key Areas in Sustainable Seafood Procurement Policy” for the first time in 2016, scoring retailers on how they set sustainable seafood targets, how they
… Read More
Europêche, the representative body for European fishers, has accused the authors of a recent report on forced labor in global fleets of displaying bias against Europe – a charge the report’s authors have strongly rebutted.
In a statement to SeafoodSource, Europêche CEO Daniel Voces said the authors of “Dark webs: Uncovering those behind forced labour on fishing fleets” – published by the Financial
… Read More
Brown crab from the U.K. and Ireland has once again become eligible for export into China, but a leading seafood trader in China has warned that both supply and demand remain constrained.
For years, the Chinese government has placed restrictions on brown crab imports due to concerns about cadmium – a contaminant found in crabs. Those restrictions have been met with consternation from Irish and U.K. exporters.
In June 2023, the General
… Read More