Yantai, a coastal city in eastern China's Shandong province, hosted a sea cucumber promotional conference in Beijing on Aug 16.

Sponsored by the Yantai publicity department and the city's marine development and fishery bureau, the event invited 42 local sea cucumber companies to promote their products.

Ten Yantai companies signed agreements with 25 sea cucumber product dealers and purchasers in Beijing, with a turnover of nearly 500 million yuan ($72.46 million). Sixty-five Beijing sea cucumber companies have expressed intention to cooperate with Yantai.

Lying at a latitude between 36 to 39 degrees, Yantai has a perfect marine environment for developing fisheries. In 2018, the total output value of fisheries reached 112.47 billion yuan, up 9 percent year-on-year. The output of aquatic products amounted to 1.86 million tons, worth 35.28 billion yuan.

The breading area for sea cucumbers in Yantai reached 397.33 square kilometers, and the output totaled 26,300 tons, accounting for 25.7 percent of the provincial total. Its brand value totaled 4.237 billion yuan, ranking 24th among agricultural products in China.

The coastal city boasts a favorable marine environment for breading sea cucumbers due to the relatively low water temperatures. With a high amino acid and low cholesterol content, Yantai sea cucumbers enjoy a strong reputation across China.

Yantai sea cucumbers. [Photo/WeChat Account:ytwlgw]