China: World’s largest caviar producer: Zhejiang / Qiandao Laike
China: caviar production
China is one of the largest caviar producers in the world.
Chinese caviar is highly regarded by experts around the world.
Chinese caviar:
Most are cultivated in Qiandao Laike, in the mountains of eastern Zhejiang,
Industry Leader: Kaluga Queen
From the industry leader, Kaluga Queen.
Kaluga Queen is a company founded in 2005.
At present, the company’s caviar accounts for more than one-third of the global market.
The Kaluga Queen sturgeon farm is about a 20-minute boat ride from Kuril Lake Shore.
The life of a sturgeon is 7 to 15 years and is large, 4 meters long and weighs 300 kg.
Caspian Sturgeon: Extinction Crisis
In the Caspian Sea, sturgeons are endangered.
Caviar has long been dominated by wild butterflies eggs caught by the Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, overfishing and smuggling threatened the sturgeon.
In 2008, sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea was banned.
Today, Italy, France and China are major producers.
Kaluga Queen: Business scale
The 300-person Kaluga Queen farms about 200,000 sturgeons.
Last year caviar production was 86 tonnes.
Mostly exported.
The European Union (EU) accounts for 50%, the United States for 20%, and Russia for 10%.
The price ranges from 10,000 to 180,000 yuan per kilogram (about 160,000 to 2.8 million yen).
: AFPBB News