TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Caviar for the masses? China certainly thinks so

Caviar for the masses? China certainly thinks so

The largest caviar maker in the world wants "normal people" to try the expensive delicacy.

Caviar was the traditional delicacy of the Caspian Sea but these days production has a new headquarters: China.

Qiandao (Thousand Island) lake lies 220 miles south of Shanghai. Fringed with mountains, it is a popular holiday spot for Chinese residents fleeing the summer heat of the city.

But it is also home to Kaluga Queen, the biggest caviar maker in the world, responsible for a third of global production.


The sturgeon are kept in floating pens in a corner of Qiandao lake in eastern China


Their caviar ends up everywhere. The company says their eggs have graced the tables of both Queen Elizabeth and Kim Jong Un.

Kaluga Queen plans to go public next year at a valuation of around £600m, the company told Sky News.

"In the beginning, people were surprised because: caviar, from China?" Han Lei, vice general manager of Kaluga Queen, said.

"They never heard about caviar from China. They had many doubts about the quality. About the safety.

"Today, we supply 25 countries and we work with around 100 distributors around the world."

The company was set up by officials from the Chinese ministry of agriculture, who started building their first farm in 2003.


Some of the sturgeon are worth as much as a Ferrari


It was good timing. In 2005, the US banned imports of beluga caviar from sturgeon caught in the Caspian sea because of fears overfishing would wipe out the species.

Farmed caviar is not subject to those restrictions.

"In 2006, we produced the first tins of farmed caviar from China," Mr Han said. "And after that we grew every year."

In a corner of the waters of Qiandao, floating metal and net structures pen in more than 1,000 sturgeon.

Some are up to two metres long and worth as much as a Ferrari, Mr Han said, because of the value of the eggs they carry.


After about four years in the lake, the sturgeon are taken to these inland pools where they live for at least another four years


Different breeds of sturgeon spend four or so years in the lake before they are transported to pools on land.

"We feed them and watch them growing from baby fish to a mature fish," Deny Yun, who manages the farm, told Sky News.

"We feel heart-broken when sending them to factory. But as a company, we have to do so. We must suffer this."

Once they are mature - at least eight years old but for some breeds as old as 15 - the sturgeon are taken to the processing factory.


The eggs are taken out of the sturgeon when they are at least eight years old


They are cut open still alive and the eggs are extracted before the sturgeon is killed and the rest of its body used for meat.

The eggs are cleaned, sorted and salted before they are tinned - a process that takes 15 minutes from start to finish.

Most of Kaluga Queen's caviar is sold under different brands abroad - in the UK it is sold through King's Fine Food, which is on sale at Fortnum and Mason's and Harrods.

But it also supplies customers in China using its own branding. And China is getting an appetite for the stuff.


The eggs are cleaned, sorted and salted then tinned

Prices start at 500 RMB (around £57) for 50g, going up to 9,000 RMB (£1,024) for a 50g tin of beluga caviar.


"We did a lot of promotion to introduce the caviar culture to Chinese people," Mr Han said.

"Now, more and more people start to consume caviar, to like caviar, to be caviar fans.

"The domestic market is growing very fast. After the virus is well controlled by the government, they're going to restaurants more.

"And more and more people like to enjoy the caviar."

That is helping to make up the shortfall in international orders as a result of COVID-19.


Deng Yun manages the farm which has more than 1,000 sturgeon


Kaluga produced 20% less caviar this year, although it aims to make up that deficit in 2021.

And there is a lot of room for growth. Current global production of caviar, from all producers, is around 300 tonnes.

In the heyday of the free-spending, status-flaunting 1980s, production peaked at 1,000 tonnes.

Mr Han said Kaluga Queen wants "normal people to have the chance to try caviar".

"In this way we can meet the demand all over the world," he added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×