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How to Price Your Catch for the China Market (Without Guessing)

A framework for thinking about landed price, the China premium, costs and commission, so the conversation starts from numbers you understand.

MARKET & PRICINGJUN 8, 2026

Suppliers ask us one question more than any other: what will I actually net? The honest answer is a framework, not a number, because species, form, grade and timing move the result. Here’s the framework.

Start from what you know

Your landed price (what the wharf or your current buyer pays) is the floor you’re comparing against. Any China conversation that can’t beat it after costs isn’t worth having, and we’ll say so.

Add the market premium honestly

The China premium is real but conditional: it attaches to the right product (live and vigorous, or frozen at spec), the right grade (uniform, tiered correctly) and the right timing (festival windows, tariff window). Premium ranges are discussed deal-by-deal against current market conditions. A website quoting you a fixed premium is guessing.

Subtract the real costs

Between wharf and buyer sit: processing to spec, packing materials, cold storage, freight (air for live, reefer for frozen), certification and documentation, and insurance. Live product carries a survivability factor: pack-out losses are a cost even when nothing goes wrong.

Then the commission: disclosed, and only on success

Our commission is a disclosed percentage on completed deals. Nothing upfront, no retainers, no fees on deals that don’t close. It sits in the math from the first conversation, so the net you see is the net you get.

The comparison that matters

Net-to-you from the China channel versus net-to-you from your current channel: that’s the whole decision. Sometimes the answer is “ship the lobster, keep selling the by-catch locally.” A good partner tells you which is which.

Run your numbers with us

Bring your species, volumes and current pricing to a no-obligation conversation and we’ll walk the framework with your real figures. Get started. Worst case, you leave knowing exactly what your product is worth in a market you weren’t selling into.

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Flatfish demand in China is strong right now.

Our buyer is purchasing halibut, flounder and turbot at multiple-container volume: whole fish, flash frozen offshore. Tell us what you land and get a real price read, with nothing owed unless your product sells and ships.

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