South China Food Expo has noted that the "aquatic delicacies"—Xiantao eels—are speeding up their "arch" onto dining tables worldwide. On July 23, the chairman of Hubei Yuntaifang Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yuntaifang") stated that the company had just shipped 8.6 tons of fresh live eels worth 639,000 yuan to Vietnam via cold-chain transport vehicles. At the end of last month, it also sent frozen semi-finished eel products to the United States and Australia.  

This year, Yuntaifang has successively received eel orders from countries and regions including the European Union and ASEAN. In addition to exporting fresh live eels, the company has collaborated with universities and research institutions in the province to develop liquid nitrogen freezing technology for eels. Boxes of frozen eel slices and segments are now flying from Xiantao to the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.  

In Yuntaifang’s production workshop, intelligent production lines are operating at full capacity. After processes such as cleaning, slaughtering, deboning, and freezing, the eels are turned into ready-to-eat snacks that can be enjoyed immediately after opening the package. Yang Keqin explained that the company has partnered with Liangpinpuzi to launch new products, adjusting the flavor formulas more than 30 times before finally settling on two flavors: mushroom-flavored deboned eel shreds and fragrant mushroom eel slices. "We will also launch braised-flavored ready-to-eat eel slice snacks in due course, hoping to use Liangpinpuzi’s distribution channels to help eel snacks 'sail' across the oceans."  

South China Food Expo has learned that Xiantao holds the reputation of "China’s Eel Capital," with Xiantao eels famous for their "yellow bodies, large spots, and tender meat." To help Xiantao eels "swim" out of the country, Xiantao Customs has introduced a new localized inspection model of "precision supervision + smart services," enabling instant declaration and review, priority inspection, immediate release after inspection, and priority certificate issuance. This reduces the impact of temperature and external environment on eels during transportation, which they are easily susceptible to. Data shows that in the first half of this year, Xiantao Customs supervised the export of eels and their products totaling 256.3 tons, with a value of 19.2881 million yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 235% and 218% respectively.  

"One jin of eel is as nutritious as ten jin of eggs," relevant personnel noted. "Xiantao eels" serve both as food and medicine, boasting rich nutritional value. In 2024, the eel breeding area in Xiantao reached 250,000 mu (approximately 16,667 hectares), with an output of about 100,000 tons, accounting for 26.3% of the national total and 52.6% of the provincial total respectively. The annual eel processing capacity stands at 20,000 tons, and the comprehensive output value of the entire industrial chain reaches 10 billion yuan.

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Source: Sohu.com

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