Three major German retail chains have decided to place large orders for Pacific cod from China, with the order cycle maintained for one year.
Published 2025년 7월 9일
Tridge summary
Starting in July, German retailers Aldi Nord, Aldi Sud, and Rewe Group, the second-largest retail chain, will partially shift their pollock supply chains to price-stable suppliers, with the proportion of purchases from China still unclear. Previously, these three companies focused on selling first-frozen pollock, and in the first half of 2024 and 2025, first-frozen fish fillets from Russia and the US have already exceeded China's second-frozen products in the German market.
Before December 2023, pollock exported from China accounted for over half of EU imports, but China's market share drastically dropped in 2024 when the EU canceled the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) plan, imposing a 13.7% tariff on second-processed pollock exports to the EU.
Sources say Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud are currently discussing a merger, with orders from China to be placed from July until June 2026.
"The three German retailers are choosing to partially shift their supply chains to China and purchase second-frozen fish fillets because the profit margins for first-frozen goods have been severely squeezed. I've heard that the proportion of purchases from China could be up to two-thirds," said a pollock supplier.
Another European source stated: "As far as I know, Aldi and Rewe were previously selling first-frozen fish fillets, but B season PBO prices from the US and Russia are rising, and the pressure to maintain shelf stability is increasing, so they have no choice but to lower their standards."
In week 27, Russian 25cm+ pollock was selling to China at a stable price of $1,525/ton.
"Pollock raw material prices have been rising, and retailers want to secure a fixed contract price for 12 months. We're also unsure how they'll achieve this. Frankly, I'm surprised by this news. Competition for Russian H&G raw materials is fierce, and they may have to pay Chinese processing plants higher prices in the next 12 months," the source said.
Based on current Russian raw material costs, China's second-frozen FOB price would need to reach over $3,000-$3,050/ton to be profitable for factories, and after the 13.7% tariff, delivery prices to Europe would reach $3
Before December 2023, pollock exported from China accounted for over half of EU imports, but China's market share drastically dropped in 2024 when the EU canceled the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) plan, imposing a 13.7% tariff on second-processed pollock exports to the EU.
Sources say Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud are currently discussing a merger, with orders from China to be placed from July until June 2026.
"The three German retailers are choosing to partially shift their supply chains to China and purchase second-frozen fish fillets because the profit margins for first-frozen goods have been severely squeezed. I've heard that the proportion of purchases from China could be up to two-thirds," said a pollock supplier.
Another European source stated: "As far as I know, Aldi and Rewe were previously selling first-frozen fish fillets, but B season PBO prices from the US and Russia are rising, and the pressure to maintain shelf stability is increasing, so they have no choice but to lower their standards."
In week 27, Russian 25cm+ pollock was selling to China at a stable price of $1,525/ton.
"Pollock raw material prices have been rising, and retailers want to secure a fixed contract price for 12 months. We're also unsure how they'll achieve this. Frankly, I'm surprised by this news. Competition for Russian H&G raw materials is fierce, and they may have to pay Chinese processing plants higher prices in the next 12 months," the source said.
Based on current Russian raw material costs, China's second-frozen FOB price would need to reach over $3,000-$3,050/ton to be profitable for factories, and after the 13.7% tariff, delivery prices to Europe would reach $3
Original content
Starting in July, German retailers Aldi Nord, Aldi Sud, and Rewe Group, the second-largest retail chain in Germany, will partially shift their pollock supply chains to price-stable suppliers, with the proportion of purchases from China still unclear. Previously, these three companies focused on selling single-frozen pollock. In the first half of 2024 and 2025, single-frozen fish fillets from Russia and the United States have already exceeded China's double-frozen products in the German market. Before December 2023, pollock exported from China accounted for more than half of EU imports. However, China's market share dropped sharply in 2024 because the EU canceled the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) plan for Russian raw materials, and Chinese double-processed pollock exports to the EU would be subject to a 13.7% tariff. Sources say that Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud are currently discussing a merger, and orders from China will continue from July until June 2026. "The three German retailers ...
Source: Foodmate
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