Problems Faced in the Delivery of Aquatic Products in China
Introduction
China’s involvement in the maritime and fisheries industries has grown dramatically over the past few years, making the country the largest producer, consumer, and exporter of seafood. As fish supplies diminish around the globe, China is increasingly becoming vital in supporting the sustainability of the global fish supply chain, particularly as the demand for sustainable processing and production of fish continues to expand. Aquaculture and fish breeding plays a crucial role in promoting food security and productivity in China. The fishing trade industry’s rapid expansion has also been marred with several challenges, including overfishing exacerbated by pollution and the development of aquaculture and declining fish stocks. However, this study focuses on some of the transportation and delivery challenges that affect the fishing industry in China. Some of the fish transportation challenges explored in this paper include the congestion and rapid urbanization of important ports and Chinese cities, resulting in long and extended traffic jams (Cheng, 2011). Inconsistencies in policies and laws across different Chinese regions is also a significant problem as hauliers are at times forced to pack or unpack cargo to meet different cargo weight demands (Hongzhou, 2015). These challenges hinder the growth and development of the fish and water sector in China, heavily impacting global production and supply. Therefore, it is essential to analyze and understand the Chinese fish and marine life industry to determine the challenges faced and provide suitable recommendations.
Background
The past three decades have marked the rapid expansion of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) with a growth rate of 10 percent between 1980 and 2012 (Hensher, Zhang, & Rose, 2015). The growth and development of the Chinese economy have had a positive effect on the transport and delivery industry in the country. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the China logistics and purchasing association to the total cost of logistics during the 10th Five Year Plan was 158.7 trillion yuan, a 1.4 increase from previous year valuations (Hensher et al., 2015) Road haulage makes up a bulk of the country’s freight transport sector making up 76.5 % of total internal freight (Hensher et al., 2015). China also has the most extensive rail system in the East and behind the United States in the global scene. China’s rail and road networks are expected to expand as there are future projects aimed at promoting connectivity between China and Europe. Rail transport plays a critical role in the logistics industry, contributing to the existing multi-modal transport system in China. The country also has the largest waterway network spanning more than 123,000 kilometres. The development of the inland waterway system in China has rapidly expanded over the years with annual increases of 10 per cent in tonne-km.
Forwarding, brokerage and warehousing services in China have been enjoyed sustained growth over the years, providing a more tailored and customized supply chains (SC) solutions for international customers. The improvisation of warehousing capacity, efficiency and service quality is of the utmost priority in the future to promote the profitability of the fisheries industry. The existing low efficiency of warehousing operations, has several negative implications, with 40 % of all warehousing operations in China having manual processes in place (Hensher et al., 2015). Improvements must be made to increase the efficiency of warehousing in China; there is a need to increase investments in warehouse management and transportation (Hensher et al., 2015). Some of the drivers to the development of China’s transport and logistics sector include the rise in domestic consumption necessitating the need for better facilities and transport systems. In 2010, the PRC placed consumption to first place in the order of the “three wagons” that promote economic growth. The development of the e-commerce industry in China is also expected further to accelerate the growth of the logistics and transportation sector (Wang et al., 2015). China’s e-commerce industry has experienced exponential growth over the past few years, with more than 145 million online shoppers increasing the need for better logistics and transportation services.
Justification
There is a need to promote quality management in fresh fish supply chains by highlighting some of the challenges faced and promoting improved logistics management. The study provides insights into some of the challenges faced in logistics management and transportation in the fish trade. A comprehensive literature review of the associated problems is presented.
Research Deficiency
There were limited material and scholarly information concerning transportation and logistics problems facing sea farming and production in China.
Research Questions and Objectives
This study aimed to:
- Explore logistic challenges associated with the transportation and delivery of fish products, concerning product shell life to improve logistics management.
- Investigate qualitatively how climate change and seasonality of fish supplies affects deliveries and transportation.
Research Questions
- How do existing government policies negatively impact the delivery of fish and aquatic products?
- What are the impacts of technological development or the lack of therefor on fish transport and delivery?
Literature Review
Congestion at the ports and transportation systems
The rapid urbanization and motorization of Chinese cities have resulted in problems linked to congestion as vehicle ownership expanded (Zhao, 2010). Moreover, the concentration of employment opportunities in cities has promoted rapid rural-urban migration in China, resulting in overpopulation and congestion, increasing the demand for urban transportation (Cheng, 2011). The rapid expansion of cities has increased the lengths of trips to major urban centres, promoting the need for roadways and public transit (Li, 2013). The rapid urbanization and mono-centric nature of Chinese cities promote congestion leading to supply delays and loss of fish products. The initial approach to dealing with traffic problems in China was focused on the expansion of road networks and systems. However, according to Li (2013), despite the development and expansion of new roadways, traffic congestion in majors cities, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou has continued to worsen, and renewed efforts in public transport investment need to be introduced.
Inconsistencies in Policies and Laws
Reduced service efficiency and additional costs are promoted by the different policies and laws in China. For instance, a haulier may have load and unload his cargo several times or may have to transfer his cargo to other trucks upon entry into a provincial border or city due to different weight restriction laws in the various zones (Hongzhou, 2015). This raises transportation costs and financial costs as it promotes cargo damage loss through multiple cargo handling. Aquatic products that require cold storage facilities provide an excellent example of the challenges encountered in the form of costs incurred from losses due to hyper-congestion that can last for hours in major cities (Hensher et al., 2015). Furthermore, contradictory and rapidly changing laws that present a groundbreaking means to service design and delivery are a source of challenges as they cannot directly be borrowed from other countries that have well setup supply channels. The lack of well set out policies promotes confusion and congestion, which can be further worsened by the lack of well-trained logistics personnel.
Fragmented Domestic Freight
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) make up a high proportion of export/import and transportation firms. These SMEs form the bulk of China’s private investors and play a vital feature in economic development and job creation (Harvie, 2002). However, they are often deterred from making huge investments due to financial difficulties, as banks are reluctant to help out because of the risks involved. SMEs are, therefore, unable to invest in modern equipment and technology, including proper transportation, because of lack of sufficient resources resulting in increased wastage (Yang & Shen, 2015). This implies that SMEs and private enterprises have to deal with rising costs of logistics, because of the expansion of e-commerce and the spread of distribution areas across a broad geographical region, while operating on limited resources and financing (Wang et al., 2015).
Climate Change
Aquaculture and transportation will likely be affected by the changes climate and temperatures, and other changes in sea and marine life variables such as tides and currents actions, sea rise and extreme weather conditions. These disruptions will likely result in operational changes, for example, the delays in transportation and delivery of aquatic products because of changes in reproduction and development might be experienced due to climate change extremes (Li et al., 2011). A vast majority of China’s marine life, seas and freshwater bodies are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change. This vulnerability can be attributed to several factors, including the fact that aquaculture systems in lower latitudes like China suffer higher cumulative mortality and faster outbreak progression, which may likely be exacerbated by global warming promoting the development of more virulent pathogens (Cao et al., 2015). Moreover, disruptions in fish development and supplies will likely negatively impact the transportation and delivery of fish stocks to required markets and affect fish supply chains in China and the rest of the world (Edwards, 2015). As the impact of climate change and global warming continues, Chinese aquaculture and fish farming will be vulnerable to direct and indirect disruptions, including decreased productivity in regions with mid/low latitudes (Barange et al., 2014).
Market Risks and Unpredictability
The short harvest seasons for several species, such as crustaceans places high demands on existing storage and processing facilities (Liu & Li, 2020). The seasonal oversupply of aquatic products places a heavy burden on the transportation and delivery of these products to relevant markets (Jia, Zhang, & Liu, 2013). Meeting the rising seasonal storage and transportation needs puts additional production costs on some of the aquaculture enterprises, even though the prices of aquatic products have been decreasing over the years. This has resulted in further financial strains and losses on some of the enterprises given that most aquatic businesses in China are still at their infancy stages. These enterprises are small-sized businesses that have low-level management with little capacity for technological innovations (Hongzhou, 2015). A large number of fish production enterprises are family-owned, whereas large and technology-based organizations remain few. Global financial downfalls have negatively impacted fish trade in the past few years, significantly reducing demands for products. This implies that such unforeseen challenges and difficulties have negatively impacted Chinese enterprises with reduced abilities to resist market risks and financial shocks.
The concentration of Major Fishing Sites in One Region
Most of China’s fishing sites are located in the Southern Region making it challenging to deliver and meet fish demands in some of the remote areas in Northern China where there is a growing demand for aquatic products. Also, the preference for live and raw fish places additional strain when it comes to the transportation of such products to faraway areas (Mallory, 2013). In the winter, when there is a shortage of fish in the north, transporting live fish from some of the fish points in the South too North is expensive, compared to the transportation of refrigerated and processed fish (Qiu, Lin, & Wang, 2010). Also, some of the fish die in the journey raising transportation expenses.
Lack of Skills and Technology
Despite being a global leader in fish production, compared to other fish producing nations such as Japan, there are still several gaps in mechanization, systemization, and adoption of scientific techniques. The existing aquaculture technologies cannot satisfy the rapid development and urgent need for transformation (Teh et al., 2019). Moreover, the efficiency of aquatic feed utilization lacks in China, resulting in bulk fishing of low-value or wild fish products, where only 30% of the feed supplied is retained by cultured species (Jia, Zhang, & Liu, 2013). Generally, the development of aquaculture in China is based on the expansion of production will little no technical progress promoting seasonality of fish stocks and unprecedented shortages further exacerbated by lack of adoption of scientific techniques.
Conclusion
China’s fish and maritime industries have expanded across the years to make the country one of the largest exporters of aquatic fish products. However, the industry is also marred with challenges, including transportation and logistics challenges considering the vast demand for Chinese fish products. Some of the associated challenges and problems include congestion in ports and land-based transportation systems. The rapid growth and expansion of the Chinese economy over the past few decades contributed to the rapid motorization of cities, placing a substantial burden transportation systems (Zhao, 2010). Also, inconsistencies in policies and regulation is a significant hindrance to the quick and swift delivery of aquatic products as carriers are forced to offload or transfer their cargo upon entering a new provincial region (Hongzhou, 2015). To better understand some of the transport and delivery challenges facing the fish and marine life industry, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the affected industry. Most of the current literature is focused on the impacts of climate change of fish supplies and stocks with limited documentation on how congestion, differing policies, and lack of government funding and investment negatively impacts transportation of aquatic products. This research offers an insight into how the lack of technology, government funding, and congestion impact transportation of fish products to develop recommendations for the future of fish trading in China.
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