Maoming City, Guangdong Province, south China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Exterior of factory
2. Various of tilapia processing workshop
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Xiaoxia, deputy general manager of marketing management center, Universal Aquatic Products (ending with shots 4-6):
"The vast majority of our U.S. orders have been suspended. Some clients have postponed shipments and are waiting to see how the situation evolves. Only a small portion of orders remain to keep our production lines running."
4. Worker driving forklift
5. Workers handling parcels
6. Various of tilapia processing workshop
7. Various of farmers harvesting tilapia
8. Various of tilapia processing workshop
9. Farmers' market
10. Various of people visiting tilapia processing workshop
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Du Xiaoting, fish procurement and sales manager, JD Supermarket (ending with shots 12-15):
"After discussions, we’ve reached a procurement deal worth some 10 million yuan (about 1.38 million U.S. dollars). We’ve launched a dedicated online section to promote export products to domestic buyers. With targeted subsidies and traffic support, we aim to grow their market share in China."
12. Various of office workers
13. Warehouse
14. Workers handling parcels
15. Various of tilapia processing equipment
16. Various of Du, Huang discussing
17. Various of Du tasting tilapia
18. Various of tilapia processing workshop

Tilapia processing firms in southern China's Guangdong Province are shifting focus to the domestic market as steep U.S. tariffs disrupt the industry and slash overseas demand.

Maoming, a city in Guangdong, stands as one of China’s largest tilapia export processing hubs, with total exports reaching 2.44 billion yuan (over 337 million U.S. dollars) in 2024.

This year, however, the impact of U.S. tariffs has forced local companies to intensify efforts to cater to the domestic market.

A tilapia processing plant in Huazhou City, a county-level city in Maoming, is particularly affected, suffering a sharp decline in orders.

"The vast majority of our U.S. orders have been suspended. Some clients have postponed shipments and are waiting to see how the situation evolves. Only a small portion of orders remain to keep our production lines running," said Huang Xiaoxia, deputy general manager of the marketing management center of the Universal Aquatic Products.

Huang highlighted that declining export orders not only affect her company but also drive down procurement prices for local fish farmers, eroding both their confidence and incomes.

Faced with mounting pressure, Huang has begun steering the company toward China's domestic market, where tilapia is still relatively unfamiliar to consumers.

To change that, she invited buyers from major e-commerce platforms to visit her company to gain a deeper understanding of their farming and production processes.

"After discussions, we’ve reached a procurement deal worth some 10 million yuan (about 1.38 million U.S. dollars). We’ve launched a dedicated online section to promote export products to domestic buyers. With targeted subsidies and traffic support, we aim to grow their market share in China," said Du Xiaoting, the fish procurement and sales manager at JD Supermarket.

Beyond e-commerce, Huang is working tirelessly to build partnerships with supermarkets and restaurant chains, often traveling with her team to pitch products and gather feedback from potential clients.

Thanks to these efforts, the company's domestic sales now account for about 35 percent of the company's total, a figure Huang hopes to push to 50 percent in the near future.