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Kaluga hybrid caviar, sustainable aquaculture
Global Rare Foods & Ingredients

Kaluga hybrid caviar, sustainable aquaculture

Large-grain, buttery caviar from farm-raised Kaluga–Amur sturgeon hybrids, a genuinely sustainable alternative to wild roe.

OriginChina
Indian subcontinentNo
CategoryGlobal Rare Foods & Ingredients
Retail price band$90–$180 per 50g tin
Bulk / trade price band$1,400–$2,600/kg wholesale, MOQ typically 1–5kg for import buyers
Sourcing statusDossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established
Compliance statusPreliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified
Request trade sheet More in Global Rare Foods & Ingredients
Dossier researched, photography pending. The sections below are drawn from the cited public sources. This is desk research, not yet verified by direct producer contact or legal counsel — treat pricing, compliance and provenance detail as a working draft for due diligence, not a final trade sheet.

Detailed study

Kaluga hybrid caviar comes from a cross between the Kaluga sturgeon (Huso dauricus), a giant freshwater sturgeon native to the Amur River basin (China/Russia border), and the Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii). The hybrid is prized for large, glossy black-to-brown grains and a mild, buttery, less 'fishy' flavor that makes it a popular entry point into premium caviar.

Provenance & producer

Virtually all commercially available Kaluga hybrid caviar today is farm-raised, with China (notably large operations around Qiandao Lake, Zhejiang) now the world's largest sturgeon aquaculture producer by volume. Fish are raised in controlled freshwater ponds/tanks for roughly 6–10 years before harvest.

Market & pricing

Kaluga hybrid has become one of the most widely distributed caviar varieties globally due to reliable farmed supply and lower price point than Beluga or Ossetra, popular with restaurants, hotels and retail gourmet buyers; China's sturgeon aquaculture sector supplies a large share of world caviar trade.

Compliance & export

Huso dauricus and Acipenser schrenckii (and their hybrids) are listed on CITES Appendix II, so international trade requires CITES export/import permits and each tin must bear CITES-compliant labelling per Res. Conf. 12.7. Because supply is farm-raised, Kaluga hybrid is broadly regarded within the trade as one of the more sustainable caviar options, though buyers should still confirm the specific farm's CITES registration and traceability documentation.

Sources

Image status

A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source (File:Acipenseridae Huso dauricusIMG 9995a.jpg). Free-licensed Commons file depicting Huso dauricus (Kaluga sturgeon), the parent species of the hybrid — depicts the live fish, not the caviar product itself Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.