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Economy of scales

By Jules Quartly (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-07 07:57

Every one of them must be accounted for, as thieves and smugglers attempt to bypass the system.

Each fish has a birth certificate and microchip implanted in its side so it can be identified.

For a sale to be legal in China seven ministries must give their approval and the process takes about four months.

One of the largest red dragon fish farms in the world outside Indonesia is in the sleepy Beijing backwater of Jinzhan town, which has tanks for 2,000 specimens, though its inventory is usually about 600.

Large, solid iron gates keep out unwanted visitors, while CCTV cameras, guards and some ferocious Tibetan mastiffs provide 24-hour security for the VIP fish.

IIKP China general manager Tom Chiu is a former journalist who admits he is in the fish business for money, but is also keen to safeguard the species' survival by farming.

On a tour of his facility, part of the Indonesian group PT INTI Kapuas International, Chiu points out a tank in the VIP viewing room. There are nine fish, sold as an "emperor set" for 500,000 yuan ($73,150).

In another aquarium, beside a comfortable sofa, there is a single fish, a 50 cm, 2-year-old "Treasure red dragon" specimen that Chiu says is "perfect", the best of its breed in China and retails for a staggering 800,000 yuan.

Though IIKP China deals with mainly high-end clients, red dragons aren't cheap elsewhere. At Nuren Street market in Beijing's city center, there are a number of stores selling aquarium products and dragon fish.

While the silver variety can be bought for as little as 60 yuan, the reds are on offer for 6,500 yuan ($950) to 60,000 yuan ($8,800), depending on their age and condition.

Chiu has seen the local market develop from a minor player into being the world's major importer of red dragon fish since his company was set up in 2006.

"Three to four years ago sales in China were negligible," Chiu says. "It now comprises around 60 percent of the world's sales. It's a trend. China loves dragons."

He says IIKP China sales have doubled since the economic downturn began last year and they are expected to increase by a similar factor by the end of the year.

It was not always thus. Though the red dragon fish was considered to be a gift from heaven by locals in Kalimantan, it was salted, dried and eaten.

Chiu says that though Chinese-Indonesians may have been the first group of aquarists interested in red dragon fish, it was the Japanese who introduced them to the wider world, following their occupation of Indonesia in 1942.

Over the following decades demand among collectors increased while stocks decreased, partially because of damage to the fish's habitat, and this led to its CITES listing in 1975.

Even so, smuggling was rife as locals and collectors emptied the Kapuas River of fish, finding a market in areas with large ethnic Chinese populations like Taiwan as well as Singapore and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, commercial farms increased the captive population of fish so that in 1989, CITES allowed trading.

As China has opened up and become wealthier, it's not surprising that it has become the principle market for dragon fish, Chiu says.

"Rich guys have got the house, the BMW, the dog and everything else, so they see the dragon fish and think, 'How come I haven't got one of those?'"

Chiu says the fish is marketed as a status symbol but this does not fully explain its attraction to ardent fans.

IIKP China product director Sun Weitao, a former soldier, freely admits that he is in love with the red dragon fish he looks after.

"They have an incomparable power and grace and it is easy to get attached to them," Sun says. "We treat them like emperors."

He has moved his favorite fish, "Apollo", into his office and claims that it is intelligent and understands him better than his wife.

"If there was a pile of money on the table and a red dragon fish I would glance at the money but I would watch the fish all day long."

(China Daily 07/07/2009 page18)

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