WINNIPEG — Need more evidence that truck-traffic patterns are changing? Look no further than Winnipeg.

In a historic pilot project, 68 kilos of fresh, RFID- tagged, Manitoba walleye and whitefish have being trucked from Winnipeg to the west coast from where they were shipped to Shanghai for consumption by the ever-growing Chinese upper and middle class.

Most fish sold in China is raised on fish farms but there’s a growing demand for freshwater wild fish, hence the RFID tagging, which guarantees freshness.

The RFID tags, developed by Invent IOT Technology, are part of a new export tracking system and trading platform launched earlier this year by CentrePort Canada to better move cargo from central Canada to China.

“This is the first time Chinese consumers will have access to RFID-secured, high-quality, wild-caught freshwater fish from Manitoba,” said Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada. CentrePort worked with Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation on the project.

Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, a Crown Corporation, has been successfully conducting business in China for nearly 10 years. Until recently, those activities primarily involved the labor-intensive deboning and portioning of northern pike for European markets.

CentrePort Canada is a 20,000-acre inland port and the first in the country to offer investors single-window access to Foreign Trade Zone benefits.

Located in Winnipeg, CentrePort is the only inland port in Canada to offer direct access to tri-modal transportation options including road, rail and air cargo.