Correspondence
Email sent to the Corporate Affairs office of Walmart Canada.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between a company engaged in such practices and one of your suppliers - Findus.
Findus is supplied white fish by NorthSeafood Holland B.V. Packaging analysis shows that a Findus product supplied by NorthSeafood Holland is sold by Walmart Canada.
NorthSeafood Holland B.V. imports white fish, including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified material, from two Chinese seafood processors: Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. and Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Sanko Fisheries has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 2023. We have found evidence of Uyghur forced labor at Yantai Sanko Fisheries throughout this period.
Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd., a company linked to Yantai Sanko Fisheries through corporate ownership, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 2023.
The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment programs which use coercive methods in worker enrolment and obstruct freedom to terminate employment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Could you confirm whether any seafood products processed by Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin have been supplied to Walmart Canada? Does Walmart Canada have any comment to make in response to the above information? Please let me know by close of business on August 17, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed the corporate affairs team for Walmart Canada: "Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain.
Our research shows that Walmart Canada stocks a wide range of High Liner Foods seafood products, and that High Liner Foods supplies white fish to Walmart Canada's own-brand Great Value range.
High Liner has imported shipments of cod, pollock, haddock, yellowfin sole, ocean perch and flounder from Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., a seafood processor based in China. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a government labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 2023. High Liner has also imported shipments of yellowfin sole from Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Longwin is linked to Yantai Sanko through corporate ownership. Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 2023.
The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment and obstruct freedom to terminate employment.
We have the following questions:
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any of the High Liner branded white fish sold by Walmart Canada since 2019?
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any Walmart Canada own-brand white fish products sold since 2019?
Does Walmart Canada have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business August 30, 2023."
Stephanie Fusco, Senior Manager of Corporate Affaris, replied: "Thank you for your email. I’m confirming receipt and that I’m looking into this."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "We're checking back in with you to see if Walmart Canada has any comment or response to our emails dated August 11 and August 22. Could you please let us know by close of business today?"
Stephanie Fusco replied: "Thank you for your email. I do not have an update at this time – the investigation is still ongoing."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Walmart Canada: "We previously emailed Walmart Canada on September 15, 2023, regarding our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Since then, our ongoing investigation has uncovered additional evidence.
We have investigators on the ground in China who have been engaging with labor brokers directly involved with the transfer of North Korean workers to factories in China. Through this and other investigative means, including collecting online footage from the plants and interviews with workers recently returned to North Korea from China, we’ve found large numbers of North Korean workers at a range of seafood processing plants in Liaoning province, on China’s border with North Korea.
We have information that as recently as December 2023, there were 50-70 workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Liaoning.
According to trade records seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Aqua Star was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood, including pollock, from Dalian Haiqing between 2017 and 2023.
The use of overseas North Korean workers was prohibited by the United Nations Security Council in 2017, with Resolution 2397 setting a deadline of December 2019 for the repatriation of all such workers to North Korea. Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed in 2017, the United States prohibits the import of any goods produced by North Korean nationals unless clear and convincing evidence is provided that indicates the materials were not made with forced labor.
Walmart Canada stocks a number of Aqua Star seafood products (for example, pollock).
In light of the above, we have some questions for Walmart Canada:
- While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Walmart Canada has any comment to make in response to this, or our previous, email?
- Can you confirm or deny if Walmart Canada has been supplied any products from Dalian Haiqing, via Aqua Star or any other supplier?"