A small city in China is rapidly emerging in the related market, accounting for 14% of the global caviar production.
According to China Central Television (CCTV) on the 7th, the caviar production in Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, southwestern China, reached 60 tons last year, recording a 14% share of the global market. CCTV introduced, "Caviar produced in this small Chinese city is exported to more than 30 countries including the United States, Europe, and the Middle East," and "it is supplied to Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and Michelin-starred restaurants."
The products are caviar produced from sturgeons over 10 years old, mainly for export. Most of last year's production, 45 tons, was exported, generating sales of 12.71 million USD (approximately 17.5 billion KRW). This is a 25% increase compared to the previous year. So far this year, from January to May, a total of 88,407 kg of caviar has been exported, an 11.1% increase compared to the same period last year (79,566 kg).
The value of caviar comes from its long breeding cycle, taking at least 7 to 8 years to mature. It is also crucial to complete more than 10 processing steps within 15 minutes to maintain freshness. Caviar is mainly produced in Russia and Iran, and recently, prices have steadily increased due to surging market demand.
Ya'an City is a small city with a population of about 1.54 million. However, officials explained that it is a pollution-free clean zone, and thanks to the meltwater from high mountain glaciers, high-quality caviar production is possible.
Some speculate that there may be even more Chinese-made caviar circulating in the market. It is suspected that a significant amount of caviar sold as Russian is actually produced in China with only the labels forged.
Last year, the Russian daily Izvestia interviewed the head of the Russian Sturgeon Breeders Association, who estimated that illegal Chinese caviar accounts for about 40% of the Russian market share.
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