If you have had anything to do with the lobster industry in this region over the last decade, you will know how critical the Chinese market is.
According to the federal government statistics, China is Canada’s second-largest fish and seafood export market after the United States, with $1.3 billion in products shipped to the Asian nation in 2024. Among those products, lobster was the top seller in China, amounting to $569 million. Snow crab was next at $300 million and shrimp was third at $262 million.
Closer to home, approximately CAD $458.7 million in lobster was exported from Nova Scotia to China in 2024.
Chinese consumers simply love lobster. According to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), lobster imports (all species combined) reached a record volume of 69,774 metric tonnes in 2025. This marks a 14.7 per cent increase over 2024 and a substantial 61.6 per cent rise from the low point of 43,185 metric tonnes recorded during the coronavirus crisis in 2021.
So, there is no wonder why fears were heightened here last March when China imposed retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on 49 Canadian aquatic products, including lobster, crab, shrimp and geoduck, following Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
These duties significantly impacted Canada’s seafood exports, especially in Atlantic Canada, affecting roughly 80 per cent of fish and seafood exports by value to China.
It would be an understatement to say that there was cautious relief throughout the Nova Scotia seafood industry when the news broke on Jan. 16 of this year that China was expected to lift retaliatory tariffs on Canadian lobster and crab starting March 1 until at least the end of the year.
The tariff relief was the result of a week-long visit to the People’s Republic of China by Prime Minister Mark Carney. It was the first visit to China by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2017. A joint statement was issued on Jan. 16 by Carney and President of China, Xi Jinping, outlining the pillars of Canada and China’s new strategic partnership.
“There’s incredible optimism in the sector. This was a major pressure. We weren’t certain we would see a resolution in any frame of time within the space of this week but at the same time there’s a little bit of caution in the wind. This is just a 10-month agreement. We’re going to need to see something developed for Jan. 1, 2027,” said Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.
And the news could not come at a better time.
Industry officials here stated that the 25 per cent tariff, combined with a weak Chinese economy, caused Canadian lobster exports to drop by about 50 per cent from April to the end of September of last year.
In return, Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EV) into the Canadian market, with the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1 per cent. This amount corresponds to volumes in the year prior to recent trade frictions on these imports (2023–2024), representing less than three per cent of the Canadian market for new vehicles sold in Canada.
Overall, this trade deal is welcomed news for a seafood industry that has been constantly attacked from the Donald Trump-led White House. Almost regularly, practically on a whim, the U.S. President threatens retaliatory tariffs against its northern neighbours. His latest threat was a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian goods if Canada made good on its recent deal with China. Of course, nobody really knows what the threat means or if the President has any intention of following through with it.
Thankfully, at least for now, Canadian seafood products compliant with the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) remain largely exempt from U.S. tariffs. But as we all know, this agreement will soon be up for negotiation and who knows what comes after that.
Due to the continued uncertainty to the south of the 49th parallel, our Chinese seafood markets are more important than ever and industry stakeholders here need to do everything in their collective power to maintain and grow these economic ties, while developing new markets in places such as the European Union.
