Zhuhai's Doumen District will build a national harvest festival economic demonstration area and will strive to make Baijiao sea bass an internationally famous brand, officials announced during an Oct 10 work meeting.

Baijiao sea bass became a National Protected Geographical Indication product in 2017, and Zhuhai was granted the honorary title of "China Sea Bass Capital" in 2019. The purchase price of the fish from breeders during the National Day holiday, which ran from Oct 1 to 7, experienced a 60 percent increase year-on-year from 12.9 yuan ($1.8) to 17.7 yuan ($2.5) per 500 grams.

The sales volume of prefabricated Baijiao sea bass products after Guangdong's celebration of the 2022 Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival took place in Doumen on Sept 23 increased by 28.6 percent year-on-year to 628 metric tons, worth 25.2 million yuan ($3.5 million), a year-on-year increase of 30 percent.

An Oct 8 livestreaming spotlights the top 10 best restaurants serving Baijiao sea bass in Doumen [Photo courtesy WeChat account: meilidoumen]

A livestreaming held by the district on Oct 8 that spotlighted the top 10 best restaurants serving Baijiao sea bass attracted a total of 5 million viewers, with nearly 3,000 deals on Baijiao sea bass products made during the event. 

In addition, the 2022 Doumen Sea Bass Fishing Competition took place on Oct 10, which aimed to further extend the industrial chain of Baijiao sea bass.

Qin Chun, deputy mayor of Zhuhai, said that the city will devote great efforts to developing its prefabricated food industry and will open experience centers for these products, especially Baijiao sea bass, to drive the development of Zhuhai's marine economy. 

An official of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province noted that the efforts made by Doumen District are expected to turn Baijiao sea bass into one of the most characteristic and competitive brands representing China's fishery industry. 

The purpose of holding celebrations for the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival and establishing industrial parks for prefabricated food is to increase local farmers' incomes, said Su Hu, Party secretary of Doumen. The district will also formulate an economic development model centered around the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival economy that can be further duplicated and promoted.