Costing A$40 a kilogram in Australia and A$60 for the same kilogram in Hong Kong, the live sea snail is a prized ingredient for Chinese cuisine.

As high profits are available due to the demand of the consumers in China who seek only the finest of traditional cuisine, airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Qantas are carrying these live sea snails in their luggage holds for what is an 8,000 kilometer journey.

After gold and medicine, food is Australia’s biggest air export with a total revenue of A$1.6 billion and of that abalone and lobster account for A$761 million. An increase of about 30% from the last year. In total nearly 90% of Australian food exports are done via air carrier..

Exports of abalone and lobster are worth more to the Australian economy than wine or dairy products according tot he Abalone Council. Australian exporters aim to further benefit in the coming years from an agreement with China that will lower tariffs from 15% to zero by the year 2018.

According to Cathay Pacific, they transport in their cargo holds about 20 tons of shellfish on every flight departing Perth for Hong Kong despite charging 5 times as much for a shipment of seafood than fruits or vegetables. The airline credits the diversification of the Chinese palette for the increase in lobster as well as the desire for sea snails and other seafood for traditional cuisine.

However, this trade is not risk free. Being the PRC, the trade lanes and profitability can be turned around at whim by Xi Jinping. Recently it has been his direction to Communist Party leaders that lavish lifestyles were to cease. Due to that order, one of the first luxuries to cease was abalone.

Despite to put an end to the lavish lifestyles for party officials, trade is still brisk and Qantas boasts a dedicated freighter plane that transports seafood between Sydney and Shanghai.

Unfortunately for the ocean carriers, sea snails are only good for the Chinese market if alive so the shortest transport time required is the favorite for exporters, even if at higher rates due to space and route.