A large-scale king crab holding and conditioning facility begins operations in Taicang, Suzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: tcsrmtzx]

A large-scale king crab holding and conditioning facility with a total investment of 500 million yuan ($73 million) has recently begun operations in Taicang, boosting the supply of premium seafood across the Yangtze River Delta.

Developed by Crab General Food, the site is the only facility of its kind in East China specializing in the temporary holding of deep-sea king crabs and snow crabs. Its launch is expected to improve the efficiency and stability of high-end seafood distribution in the region.

According to general manager Wang Yingxu, the latest batch of king crabs was transported from Russian waters. They are being carefully conditioned by a professional team to reach peak quality before sales. The crabs will soon be shipped to major supermarkets across the YRD region.

A storage tank can hold about 1,500 crabs. [Photo/WeChat account: tcsrmtzx]

Each holding tank can accommodate up to 3 metric tons of king crabs, or about 1,500 crabs, Wang explained. The facility currently operates 58 tanks. A new shipment of 63 tons of blue king crabs is expected to arrive on April 16, after which the facility will be running at near full capacity to meet growing market demand.