Jellyfish production hub spreads its tentacles

Business spreads

Yingkou has more than 300 processing companies, family workshops and cooperatives employing around 50,000 people in jellyfish-related work.

Each year the city produces on average 236,000 tons of processed jellyfish, with about 81 percent of the raw material coming from outside the city. The total output value of jellyfish processing is approximately 3 billion yuan ($413 million), data from local authorities showed.

Yingkou exports about 12,000 tons of jellyfish to 33 countries and regions annually, mainly to Japan, South Korea, the United States, and European countries.

Gaizhou Yinghui Aquatic Products Processing Factory processes 4.1 million kg of jellyfish every year. Half of the amount is exported, while the other half is made into precooked food for domestic farmers' markets and hotels, according to Chen.

"Our Yingkou jellyfish, with high-quality standards and traditional processing techniques, quickly gained favor among domestic and foreign customers, creating substantial wealth for people," he said.

"High-quality jellyfish can promote digestion and slow down aging, and is food that supports the health of middle-aged and elderly people," he said, adding he expects both demand and markets to expand in the future.

"Jellyfish processing does not cause any pollution. This industry can last for thousands of years with proper guidance from the government," he said.

Tao Siqing, general manager of Yingkou Chenguang Sea Product Co, said that in the past the company's focus was on quantity. Now, it relies on proper decomposing of the jellyfish, and deep processing, to ensure the quality of its products and the success of its brand, she said.

Founded in 1997, Chenguang has built advanced production lines and obtained multiple international certifications for the quality of its goods from the United States, Canada and the European Union. It has made breakthroughs in the development of innovative products such as instant jellyfish.

Tao Guofeng, the company's chairman, said jellyfish existed before the dinosaurs. "As long as the ocean exists, jellyfish will survive, and as long as there are jellyfish, humans will eat them," he said.

In 2014, Yingkou Jellyfish was recognized as a national geographical indication product, and a top 10 fishery brand of Liaoning.