Economic Observer reporter Lao Yingying

On October 23rd, at the 2026 China Nourishing Industry New Quality Development Conference and the third annual meeting of the Fish Gum (Flower Gum) Branch of the China Fisheries Association held in Guangzhou, several experts expressed their views on the development of the industry.

Flower glue, also known as fish glue, is made from fish swim bladder.

Xue Changhu, an academician of the CAE Member, said at the meeting that at present, most of the raw materials of the flower glue industry rely on imports, and there are various practical problems such as mixed varieties and uneven quality of the imported raw materials. Some enterprises conduct illegal operations with shoddy products and false propaganda, which not only damage the reputation of the industry, but also lead to a decline in consumer trust. In addition, there is a common phenomenon of the same species having different names and the same name but different species in the flower gum, which is difficult for outsiders to distinguish. Just like many so-called dragon fish on the market are actually barracuda fish, with different varieties and vastly different values. At the same time, the flower glue industry is also facing issues such as the need to improve the standard system.

Zhang Yu, Executive Director of the Fish Gum (Flower Gum) Branch of the China Fisheries Association, also pointed out that the flower gum industry is currently facing multiple challenges, such as demand pressure, vicious competition from homogenization, and compliance pressure.

Zhang Yu stated that the overall growth rate of the flower glue industry is slowing down, with a certain degree of decline in online sales channels and a slight increase in the offline retail market. At the same time, the prices of bulk raw materials are generally falling, reflecting the weakness of market demand.

The slowdown in industry growth is related to the decline in consumer reputation for the flower gum category. Zhang Yu pointed out that consumers have reported quality issues with the flower glue category, such as the use of synthetic glue, decreased foaming rate, decreased product stability, and increased fishy smell.

Zhang Yu believes that in the environment of market competition, the industry's investment in the quality of flower glue products has decreased, directly leading to a decline in user experience; At the same time, the unit price per customer has decreased, putting great pressure on production and raw material enterprises. Enterprises generally feel that it is difficult to do business and profits are becoming increasingly thin.

But structural opportunities are also emerging, "Zhang Yu also said. The category of uterine care products is growing rapidly, and a large number of experiments have confirmed that related products have an improving effect on uterine and ovarian function. In the process of continuous scientific research and verification, the corresponding market demand is also constantly expanding. In addition, segmented categories are constantly emerging, such as flower gel paste, flower gel peptide drink, and water-based flower gel.

Zhang Yu also noticed a phenomenon: the channel structure of the dried flower glue category is undergoing significant changes, and modern channels are rapidly rising. For example, Sam's Club, JD.com, large chain supermarkets, and gift channels are all growing rapidly. In addition, the trust element of traceability (comprehensive management from the source of raw materials, processing and production, standard system, circulation, etc.) continues to improve, and traceability products have also experienced rapid growth.

At the meeting, Xue Changhu also put forward suggestions on the development model of the modern flower gum industry chain from the perspective of opportunities brought by ocean pastures.

Xue Changhu said that ocean pastures are a good source of raw materials for carrageenan, but it is very difficult to raise the sea carp in the ocean pastures from a few pounds to ten or fifteen pounds, and then produce qualified carrageenan raw materials. The most essential prerequisite is that aquaculture itself must be profitable. According to its introduction, the proportion of flower gum in the entire sea bass (red mouthed catfish) is only about 0.5%, and many fish species even have only 0.1% to 0.2%. Flower gum only accounts for a small part of the fish body, but contributes 70% of the value of the entire sea bass, and most of the remaining fish meat can often only be sold at a low price as ordinary fish meat.

Therefore, Xue Changhu emphasized that in developing carrageenan products, it is necessary to solve the sales outlet of fish meat in order to connect the complete industrial chain from raw materials to value, including better promoting the functional development of carrageenan.

In his view, the construction of ocean pastures is a full chain project that covers many aspects such as breeding, feed, breeding, disease prevention and control, processing, and safety control. Developing flower gum raw materials is one of the important levers for the development of marine ranches, but it is necessary to respect objective development laws in order to obtain flower gum raw materials.

In addition, Xue Changhu also believes that in the development path of the flower gum industry, technological innovation, product innovation, and industrial innovation are interrelated and indispensable. I believe that through the entire innovation system, the sea carp raised in marine ranches can achieve full value development of both meat and glue, thereby promoting an increase in industry output value of 6 billion to 8 billion yuan.

(Author Lao Yingying)