Xinjiang-raised salmons capture domestic market

The salmons raised in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are on display at the fifth China-Eurasian Expo on Sept 22, 2016. [Photo/ts.cn]

Born in Alaska and raised in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, thousands tons of salmons have reached the domestic market this year.

The salmons in Xinjiang first became famous at the fifth China-Eurasian Expo, which was held from Sept 20 to 25 in Urumqi. The expo attracted representatives from 57 countries and six international organizations.

Xinjiang Tianyun company imported the fish eggs from Alaska, and bred them at the Kashi River basin in Ili, near the Tianshan Mountains. About three million adult salmons, each weighing about 3.5 kilograms, are at the farm area more than 1,000 meters above the sea level.

Ding Yaying, deputy general manager of Xinjiang Tianyun, said the salmons imported from Norway and Chile dominated domestic market, but it took about seven days for the imported fish to reach ports, and several more days to arrive in cities.

The salmons in Xinjiang can reach domestic market quicker and fresher, and further, and the price is only about one-third of the imported ones, Ding said.

More than 40 tons have already been transported to Shanghai by December 20.

China Southern Airlines, one of the largest airlines in China, took charge of transporting the salmons to large cities.

Lu Qinghong, a manager of the airlines, said the planes carrying salmons take off from Yining airport at 11 pm and arrive in Shanghai, about 4,500 kilometers away, within 15 hours.

Currently, the salmons are mainly sold in Shanghai and some in Beijing.