"Nytt fra HAVBRUK" newsletter no. 3-4/2009:
Do the Chinese want Norwegian salmon?
With a fast growing economy and a burgeoning middle class China could become an even more important market for Norwegian fish – if they do not close the door in order to protect their own fishing industry.
The EU and the USA have traditionally dominated negotiations on international trade agreements, but now large and growing economies such as China, India and Brazil are playing a more active role. China is already the world’s third-largest economy.
Norwegian researchers are currently working with colleagues from the USA, India, China and the EU to understand the processes that lie behind the strategies of key actors in international trade negotiations. One of the Norwegian participants in the project, Professor Oluf Langhelle of the University of Stavanger, recently visited China, which could become an even larger market for Norwegian fish than it is today – if Norway is allowed access to it.
The project “Political-institutional change in China, the EU, India and USA and their consequences for Norwegian primary industry policies” is funded by the Research Council of Norway under the Research Programme on Nature-based Industry (NATUROGNÆRING). The project is profiled in the most recent newsletter from the HAVBRUK programme (Nytt fra HAVBRUK nr. 3-4/2009, available in Norwegian only), which illustrates the breadth and diversity of Norwegian aquaculture research.
China could become an important market for Norwegian salmon. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Fish processing to continue
“China is important to the Norwegian aquaculture industry for several reasons,” says Langhelle. “Firstly China is already a key partner as a processor of Norwegian fish. With its rapidly growing middle class, the country also represents a potentially significant market for the sale of Norwegian fish to consumers.”
In Langhelle’s view there is little risk that the Chinese will refuse to process Norwegian fish. The processed fish is meant for other markets and processing activity has an unequivocally positive impact on the Chinese economy. The same may not be said for fish exports to China, particularly if the volume of these exports reaches a level that could pose competition for Chinese fisheries. For the moment Norwegian salmon is an important supplement to Chinese fish.
Complex domestic policy
“China is a huge country, and the political decision-making processes are extremely hard to understand – even for our Chinese colleagues. We know that the numerous provinces enjoy considerable autonomy, and that there may be conflicting trade interests between individual provinces. Our starting point is that domestic policy considerations play a crucial role in determining the trade policies of China and other countries. It remains to be seen whether this is true.”
“We know that Chinese consumers are very fond of salmon. Eating salmon carries status in China. The Chinese have no salmon industry of their own to protect, so if they introduce restrictions on the import of salmon it will have to be because they believe that higher consumption of salmon will reduce the consumption of other, local fish. In China the fisheries fall under the Ministry of Agriculture, which may also have an impact on the negotiations.”
Exciting point in WTO negotiations
The project is comparative and will analyse how domestic policy trends in China, India, the USA and the EU affect their respective approaches to international trade negotiations and how this in turn could affect Norwegian primary industries.
“We are nearing a possible conclusion to the current round of WTO negotiations and it will be very exciting to see if the negotiations are successful. It will also be interesting to see what the outcome of the bilateral negotiations on a free trade agreement between Norway and China will be and which concessions, if any, Norway will make in these negotiations,” says Langhelle.
“There is every possibility that Norwegian agriculture will have to adapt to new realities if the current round of WTO negotiations is concluded, but it is less likely that a bilateral free trade agreement with China will require concessions on the part of agriculture.”
- Published:
- 11.01.2010
- Last updated:
- 19.01.2010
Other articles from "Nytt fra HAVBRUK" no. 3-4/2009
The newsletter (in Norwegian)
- Nytt fra HAVBRUK nr 3-4 2009 (PDF-453.1 KB)
Contact
- Rolf Giskeødegård +47 22 03 70 97 rg@forskningsradet.no
- Arve Ziener Special Adviser az@forskningsradet.no
