Salmon Imports Surge 149%, Making Chengdu China's Second-Largest Distribution Hub
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Chengdu is changing the route by which imported salmon enters the Chinese market. In the first half of 2026, Chengdu's air port imported 14,014 tons of fresh chilled salmon, up 149.2% year on year. In 2025, Chengdu's air port import volume already ranked second in the country.
More noteworthy is that over 80% of the salmon entering Chengdu is not consumed locally, but after cold-chain processing and distribution is shipped to major consumer cities nationwide such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
At the same time, the volume of fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) registered for import by Sichuan companies is also rising rapidly. Customs data show that in 2025, Sichuan companies registered imports of 23,052 tons of fresh Atlantic salmon, second only to Shanghai; in the first half of 2026 the figure reached 17,418 tons, up 129.6% year on year.
Chengdu's role has shifted from a traditional consumption endpoint to a transit, processing and distribution node in the national imported salmon supply chain.
Sichuan's Salmon Imports Soared 40-Fold in Three Years
The change in the scale of Sichuan's salmon imports is very clear. In 2022, Sichuan companies registered imports of only 564 tons of fresh Atlantic salmon; in 2023 this rose to 2,260 tons; in 2024 it reached 15,514 tons, entering the front ranks of the country's major importing regions for the first time.
In 2025 it rose further to 23,052 tons. It should be noted that the Sichuan import volume in customs statistics is compiled according to the registered location of the consignee/consignor, and is not equivalent to goods actually entering through Sichuan airports. Therefore, the rapid growth of Sichuan's import data reflects the rising procurement and trading position of local companies in the national salmon supply chain, not merely an increase in local consumption in Chengdu.
In the first half of 2026, China's imports of fresh Atlantic salmon reached 86,026 tons, up 21.4% year on year. Over the same period, Sichuan's import growth reached 129.6%, markedly higher than the national market.
Data from Chengdu's air port also confirms this change: imports of fresh chilled salmon in the first half of the year reached 14,014 tons, up 149.2% year on year.
Over 80% of Salmon "Turns Around" in Chengdu
Behind the growth of Chengdu's salmon imports is a locally emerging system of "air freight + processing + cold chain + distribution."
China Eastern Cold Chain's Western Fresh Food Port is about 5 kilometers from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. Since 2025, the project has cumulatively imported 12,028 tons of salmon, averaging about 668 tons per month.
Of this, over 80% of the imported salmon is not sold in Chengdu, but is transferred via cold-chain transport to cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, while the remaining products are processed in Chengdu and supplied to the Southwest and Northwest markets of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou and Shaanxi.
The Western Fresh Food Port has a processing line about 120 meters long, handling about 10 tons of salmon per day. After the imported fish arrives, it goes through unpacking, cutting, filleting and packaging before entering the domestic market.
This model has changed the traditional circulation route for imported salmon. In the past, imported salmon mostly entered through coastal ports and was then transported to inland consumer markets. Today, Chengdu uses its air transport advantages to connect global origins directly with the national consumer market.
48 Hours from Overseas Fishing Grounds to the Domestic Market
Fresh chilled salmon is highly sensitive to transport time, and Chengdu's advantage comes first from its air network. Chengdu currently has international routes connecting Europe and South America, including Santiago and other major salmon supply origins. At the same time, the two international airports of Shuangliu and Tianfu complement each other's air capacity, providing stable transport conditions for imported fresh products.
From fishing at overseas origins and air transport to completing customs clearance and processing in Chengdu, and then shipping via the domestic cold-chain network to consumer markets, the whole process can be completed in as little as 48 hours.
Customs clearance efficiency is also an important support for the growth of Chengdu's salmon imports. Chengdu Shuangliu Airport Customs has introduced the "two-stage admission" supervision model: if cargo inspection shows no abnormalities and the company submits a commitment, the goods can be picked up directly and moved to the company's own cold storage, compressing clearance time to about 2 hours.
The subsequently implemented "airside internal transfer for imports" model further reduces off-airport transit and repeated security checks after goods leave the airport, cutting transit time by about 5 hours.
In 2025, Chengdu also began piloting a "whitelist" system for importers of fresh chilled aquatic products. Eligible companies can pick up imported fresh chilled aquatic products immediately after port sampling is completed, without waiting for laboratory test results.
Currently, Shuangliu Airport Customs operates 7×24-hour customs clearance, allowing fresh goods to be inspected and released immediately upon arrival.
Chengdu's Import Sources Are More Diversified Than Coastal Markets
Chengdu is forming a procurement structure different from traditional coastal import markets. In 2025, the Faroe Islands were the largest source of fresh Atlantic salmon registered for import by Sichuan companies, accounting for 33.5%; Norway accounted for 29.2%, Chile 15.6%, Australia 15%, the United Kingdom 4.7% and Iceland 2.1%.
By contrast, Guangdong's import sources are highly concentrated in Norway, which accounted for 84.1% of its registered imports in 2025; Shandong's Norwegian share was 76.6%.
Shanghai's supply sources are more diverse, but Norway still accounts for about two-thirds. Sichuan's import sources are more diversified, consistent with Chengdu's positioning as a national distribution center. Importers purchase goods from different origins and then use Chengdu's air and domestic logistics networks to allocate them to different consumer markets.
Salmon Is Just One Example of Chengdu's Fresh Food Hub
Imported salmon is not the only fresh food business taking shape in Chengdu. Boston lobster, Chilean cherries, Thai mangosteen, imported durian and other products have also begun to enter Chengdu by air for processing, distribution and sale.
Chengdu's air hub cargo capacity is also expanding. In June 2026, Air China Cargo's Southwest Branch settled in Chengdu, with 8 A330 passenger-to-freighter aircraft operating 33 flights per week, providing more than 3,200 tons of weekly capacity.
In the first half of this year, the import and export value through Chengdu's air port reached 434.75 billion yuan, up 24.5% year on year. Sichuan's total import and export value in the first seven months reached 626.06 billion yuan, up 4% year on year, a record high for the same period.
For salmon traders, Chengdu's value is no longer just that of a consumer market. Imported goods complete customs clearance, processing and cold-chain distribution here before entering the national market, and Chengdu is becoming an important node connecting overseas origins with China's consumer hinterland.
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