Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — Did you know that out of five Russian Kamchatka crabs eaten by Chinese, four came from the border town of Hunchun, (Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Northeast China's Jilin Province), which is not actually a coastal town?
At the King Crab Exhibition Hall located in the Northeast Asia Cross-Border E-Commerce Industrial Park in Hunchun, hundreds of blue and red king crabs from the Bering Strait live comfortably in a huge pool.
The cool air in the exhibition hall mixes with the faint salty taste of sea water. It turns out that the pool is filled with sea water from the “native land” of king crabs, and its temperature is maintained at about 2 degrees Celsius.
“The king crabs, which cost more than 320 yuan (US$44.5) per kilogram, were transported to China using original transport and water environment to ensure their longer life,” said Cui Ling, an employee of Hunchun Shengjin International Trade Co., Ltd., adding that July to August is the busiest time of the year. On average, up to 150 king crabs are sold per day through online and offline sales. These king crabs are shipped from here and delivered across the country within two weeks. In many regions, customers who order this seafood delicacy in the morning receive it the next day.
Why hasn't the coastal city of Hunchun become the key hub for importing Russian Kamchatka crabs?
Previously, Kamchatka crabs imported from Russia to China had to be transported through the Republic of Korea and Japan, which led to higher costs and a deterioration in the quality of king crabs.
After Hunchun Port was approved as a specialized port for importing chilled seafood and edible aquatic animals, this “golden corridor” for importing king crabs into China was opened. In addition, the Kamchatka-Zarubino-Hunchun route made the transportation of aquatic products between China and Russia more stable and smooth.
To ensure the freshness of imported seafood, Hunchun Customs has opened a "green channel" to provide inspection and release services by appointment all year round and around the clock, speeding up customs clearance.
“In 2024, about 1.5 million pieces of king crab worth 3.31 billion yuan were imported into China through Hunchun Port, accounting for more than 80 percent of the country’s total market,” said Sun Jufeng, head of the Hunchun Port Management Service Center.
According to him, in recent years the efficiency of customs clearance has been constantly improving. If the driver registers in advance, the passage through the checkpoint can be completed in a matter of minutes.
Let us recall that last year, construction of a new terminal began in Hunchun on the territory of the checkpoint in order to meet the increasing volumes of cargo flow between China and Russia. The new terminal with a design capacity of 2 million tons will be put into operation during this year, and then the volume of transportation through the Hunchun checkpoint will increase more than fourfold.
In recent years, Chinese consumers' interest in Russian Kamchatka crabs has grown rapidly. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, the total value of China's imports of live, fresh and frozen crabs from Russia exceeded US$1.14 billion last year, up 16.7 percent from the previous year. -0-
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