Hairy crabs raised in Dongting Lake in Hunan province — 438 kilograms of them — took a plane to Nairobi, Kenya, early on Wednesday morning. But they weren't going on vacation. They were the first Chinese hairy crabs to be sold in Africa for eating.

An aquatic products company in Hanshou county of Changde, Hunan, signed a contract with an African customer at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in September in Changsha, Hunan. The Wednesday shipment fulfills part of that order. An additional three to four tons of the crabs will make the same trip later.

The crabs were put onto shelves after their arrival and customs clearance in Nairobi, according to the international trade service supplier.

Trade between Hunan and African countries during the first 10 months of the year has exceeded 32 billion yuan ($5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 46.2 percent.

Zhu Youfang contributed to this story.