LISTEN: Coronavirus Impact On The Seafood Industry

Join SeafoodNews Podcast co-hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione as they give updates on the coronavirus and the impact it is currently having on the seafood industry.

This episode is brought to you by COMTELL, which will be receiving a complete redesign this year. Subscribers who utilize COMTELL to track market quotations, analyze trends and stay on top of key industry news will see a host of new features. Streamlined navigation, customizable dashboards, filtering options, quick access to your favorite reports and more will make COMTELL an even more valuable tool....

Chinese Buyers Lose Interest in Ecuador White Shrimp at End of 2019; Uncertainties Follow into 2020

Last year saw Ecuador outrun other competitors and became the largest white shrimp exporter to China. Its export ballooned to 348,044 tons from 98,798 tons in 2018. However, relevant business participants can hardly feel the joy, and many are still recovering from the roller coaster ride of prices and the country’s limited purchases in the December.

In the early 2019, China’s white shrimp market was overshadowed by depressing rumors like collapse and the corresponding contraction of prices. But later, due to such factors as...

The Winding Glass: China Largest Global Importer of Shrimp; Coronavirus Threatens Price Stability

At the Aqua India 2020 meeting, held in Kochi January 31^st and Feb 1^st, the unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus is seen as a wild card with potential to upend the global shrimp market in the first half of 2020.

China surpassed the US as the largest importer of global shrimp, according to data through the 3^rd quarter of 2019.  Although most people in the industry are familiar with how much Ecuador’s expansion of production has been driven by...

Coronavirus Origin in Question as Cases in China Continue to Grow 

Did the mysterious pneumonia outbreak really start at South China Seafood City in Wuhan? That's the question as cases of the novel coronavirus in China continue to grow.

The first case of pneumonia was reported in Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, in mid-December. Early reports linked the pneumonia cases to South China Seafood City, also known as Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, due to a number of the initial patients being vendors and dealers who worked at the seafood market. The market was closed on...

Russian Crab Producers on Verge of Record Losses Due to Coronavirus

The ever spreading coronavirus may result in serious losses of Russian crab producers supplying their products to China – the main sales market for them, according to recent statements from producers and industry analysts.

As German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (WARPE), said in an interview to the Russian RBC business paper, the losses of Russian crab exporters in Q1 of the current year may reach $80 million USD in revenue due to lower demand for...

Chinese New Year Seafood Sales Threatened As Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Cancels Celebrations

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the biggest holiday in China and is celebrated by more than 20% of people around the world. Over 400 million people travel during the Chinese New Year, of which nearly 7 million of those travel abroad. This year, however, things are different. The novel coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan in December has resulted in quarantine measures and numerous Chinese New Year celebrations being canceled. What does this mean for the seafood industry?

VIDEO: FCF’s Bumble Bee Bid; Tuna Price-Fixing Settlement; First Coronavirus Case in U.S. and More

Join SeafoodNews Weekly Video co-hosts Andraia Torsiello and Ryan Doyle as they talk about FCF's successful bid for Bumble Bee Foods; a California judge's denial of a potential settlement between commercial food preparers and Chicken of the Sea stemming from the tuna-price fixing scandal; the first Coronavirus case landing in the United States and a look into the aquaculture industry in the U.S.

This episode was brought to you by COMTELL, which will be receiving a complete redesign in 2020...

CDC Ups Travel Notice to ‘Level 2’ After First Case of Novel Coronavirus Confirmed in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has upped their travel health notice for China from a “Watch Level 1” to “Alert Level 2.”

Since the initial mysterious pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, the CDC has had a “Watch Level 1” travel health notice listed for China. The “Watch Level 1” notice encourages travelers to “practice usual precautions” when traveling to the specific destination, as well as to be up-to-date on all recommended vaccines. Now, with the first confirmed case of...

Wuhan Pneumonia Outbreak Update: 136 New Cases Confirmed a Week Before Chinese New Year

A total of 136 new cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, was confirmed in the past two days, according to a report from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.

Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, has been suffering from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak since mid-December 2019. Cases of pneumonia were initially linked to South China Seafood City, a seafood market in Wuhan. Authorities reported at the time that some of the patients were operating dealers or vendors at the seafood market...

Pneumonia Cause in China Could Potentially Be New Type of Coronavirus

The cause of a mysterious pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, could potentially be a new coronavirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement on Thursday confirming that Chinese authorities have "made a preliminary determination of a novel coronavirus, identified in a hospitalized person with pneumonia in Wuhan." For those unfamiliar with coronavirus, it usually causes mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses similar to the common cold. However, certain coronaviruses, like MERS or SARS, can cause severe symptoms that progress into pneumonia...

Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak in China Linked to Seafood Market

An outbreak of pneumonia in China has been linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province.

The first case of pneumonia was reported around December 12, 2019. However, it wasn't until December 31 that the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission released a statement announcing the launch of a case to investigate pneumonia cases linked to South China Seafood City. At the time a total of 27 pneumonia cases were reported by medical institutions. Of those 27 patients, seven were said to be in "serious condition...

Coronavirus Fears Result in Canceled Flights to China as CDC Raises Travel Advisory to Level 3 

On Thursday the World Health Organization convened to discuss the coronavirus outbreak in China and declared a "public health emergency of international concern." More flights to China (or out of China) are getting canceled as fears over the coronavirus rise.

China's National Health Commission confirmed on Friday that, as of midnight of January 30, the total number of confirmed infections of the virus has climbed to 9,692. This number includes 213 deaths. The number of infected climbs to...

Cruise Line Companies Cancel Cruises from China Due to Coronavirus

Businesses in and outside of China are taking a financial hit due to the coronavirus outbreak. Numerous restaurants and chains, like Starbucks and McDonald's, have closed locations in China, and some airlines have even suspended flights to the country. As for the latest industry to suffer from the coronavirus fallout? Cruise lines.

Royal Caribbean announced earlier this week that they canceled three Spectrum of the Seas sailings from Shanghai.

"In light of the latest developments with the coronavirus outbreak in China, we are suspending the...

Coronavirus Update: Reports of Drop in Lobster Exports, Reduced Buying of Dungeness Crab

Earlier this week SeafoodNews reported that there was anxiety in the live lobster market for both Canada and the U.S. due to the novel coronavirus in China. More details are emerging as the confirmed cases of the virus in China continue to grow.

"We've seen them diminish dramatically to the point that as of yesterday and today they're almost non-existent," Stewart Larmont of Tangier Lobster told CBC News of a "sharp drop" in lobster exports. "There's a recognition that the coronavirus is a significant health issue...

Anxiety in Live Lobster Market as Novel Coronavirus Halts Chinese New Year Sales

Urner Barry contacts in the live lobster market – for both Canada and the U.S. – are beginning to report some anxiety as the novel coronavirus halts Chinese New Year sales.

As SeafoodNews has been reporting, China's been struggling with a novel coronavirus outbreak since December 2019. The virus, which has claimed 81 lives so far, has resulted in the country issuing quarantine measures in Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have started at South China Seafood City, also known as the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market...

Shanghai Disney Resort Closes During Chinese New Year As Coronavirus Spreads

As the novel coronavirus spreads, Shanghai Disney Resort confirmed on Friday that beginning on January 25 they are temporarily closing Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown including Walt Disney Grand Theatre and Wishing Star Park. They have no reopening date but said that they are "carefully monitoring the situation" and will "be in close contact with local government." The closure of the park is just the latest announcement regarding the cancellation of Spring Festival celebrations.

Shanghai Disney opened in 2016, and in 2017 received more than 580,000 tourists during the Spring Festival...

Chinese New Year Celebrations Canceled as Quarantine Measures Over Novel Coronavirus Put in Place

China has initiated quarantine measures due to the novel coronavirus outbreak just a few days before Chinese New Year.

Chinese media outlets shared photos of notices posted at metro stops in Wuhan that state that the city’s bus, subway, ferry and long-distance passenger transport operations have been suspended. In addition, outlets are reporting that airport and railway stations from the Han corridor have been temporarily closed. According to reports, cars are currently allowed to exit Wuhan, however, some highways entering the city have been...

Korea Confirms Case of Pneumonia Linked to Wuhan; Travelers Being Screened Ahead of Chinese New Year

The first case of novel coronavirus linked to Wuhan, China, has been reported in the Republic of Korea.

National IHR Focal Point for the Republic of Korea confirmed the case on Monday. The patient is a 35-year-old female Chinese national who resides in Wuhan. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient was initially diagnosed with a cold after visiting a hospital in Wuhan on January 18 for a fever, chills, and muscle pain. The following day the patient traveled to...

Wuhan Pneumonia Outbreak: Case Detected in Thailand, Human-to-Human Transmission Not Ruled Out

A case of coronavirus-infected pneumonia has been identified in Thailand.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health reported the first imported case of lab-confirmed novel coronavirus earlier this week. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a 61-year-old Chinese woman living in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, was traveling to Thailand with five family members as part of a tour group. Prior to her trip, the woman developed a fever with chills, a sore throat, as well as a headache...

U.S. Embassy in China Issues Warning to Travelers Over Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak

The U.S. Embassy in China is urging travelers to Wuhan to be cautious.

As SeafoodNews reported earlier this week, Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, is dealing with a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia linked to a seafood market. The first case of pneumonia was reported around December 12, 2019, and to date there have been 59 cases.

Since the outbreak, the seafood market in question, South China Seafood City, has been closed for environmental sanitation and disinfection. But while the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has...