Food and Drug Administration employees check salmon in a Sam's Club store in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Salmon imports and consumption are gradually picking up in China as fears fade following the detection of coronavirus on an imported salmon chopping board in a Beijing market last month.

According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norway exported 119 tons of fresh salmon to China in the first week of July, down 76 percent year-on-year but up from 58 tons the previous week.

After the detection of the virus at the Xinfadi market on June 12, sales of salmon hit rock bottom in China, with many supermarkets rushing to remove the fish from their shelves.

One month on, confidence is recovering. A source close to a large Beijing-based salmon importer told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that the company had resumed imports in the past couple of weeks, although the volume is down by at least half from before the Xinfadi incident.

National salmon consumption is just about 10 percent of the year-earlier level, the person said.

Eason Li, China general manager at Norwegian seafood processor Hofseth International AS, said that the recovery differs from city to city outside Beijing. The recovery is strongest in Shanghai.

"Certain supermarkets, such as the Sam's Club in southern China, have resumed selling salmon, but sales aren't doing well. It may take time for consumers to regain confidence," Li told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Li also said that except for Beijing, local Chinese customs does not block salmon imports, but his company has not imported any new products in recent weeks.

Several members of the public the Global Times talked to on Wednesday were hesitant to buy salmon. A housewife in Shanghai surnamed Dai said she won't buy the fish again until the pandemic is completely over, as she's not sure if the fish really spreads the virus. 

Fan Xubing, a senior seafood industry analyst, said that a recovery of salmon consumption is certain. "The salmon market might have a V-shaped recovery, depending on consumer confidence and work resumption of Japanese restaurants," Fan told the Global Times.

Many Japanese restaurants are facing difficulties, and they have frozen their salmon. Their import and purchasing plans are uncertain, Fan said. 

Fan also predicted that China's imported seafood market should recover at least 50 percent if there are no incidents like the one at Xinfadi. "But it's hard to say, as the global pandemic continues."