SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Island seafood exporters are looking to turn new connections in China into sales as trade tensions with the United States drive a push to diversify. Bruce Palmer is back at his fish mart on Summerside’s waterfront after a provincial trade mission to Canada’s second-largest seafood market. It offered local exporters a chance to mingle with importers and distributors, kicking off with the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo in Qingdao before meetings in Beijing and Shanghai. Palmer said 40 or 50 potential buyers stopped by the booth he shared with other P.E.I. businesses. “Everybody was interested. They’re all looking for fresh product,” said Palmer, who owns JMK Fish Mart. Earlier this month, Ottawa announced a two-year extension of a deal keeping additional 25 per cent Chinese tariffs off Canadian lobster and crab through the end of 2028. The relief was set to expire in December, but Palmer says the renewal has lifted his biggest concern. “It’s fantastic,” he said. “I think we have a better relationship with China now than the U.S.” But he cautions that losing the U.S. market would mean “big trouble.” Between 2022 and 2025, Canada’s annual fish and seafood exports to China averaged about $1.3 billion after adjusting for inflation, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. But the U.S. remains the largest customer by far, buying $6.1 billion in Canadian fish and seafood in 2025, or 72 per cent of the country’s seafood exports by value. Some seafood products are excluded from the tariff relief, including shrimp, prawns, clams and sea cucumbers. They’ll still face additional duties. Palmer said he’s not licensed to ship his own products directly to China, but is working to secure approval to sell live lobster. He also wants to sell live eels and bluefin tuna, which remain subject to regular import duties. He’s optimistic those trade barriers can be overcome. “I’m sure they’ll make ways to to get around them in the future,” he said.
