Seafood Expo Global i Brüssel er endelig i gang. Over 1.690 utstillere fra 76 land og over 25.800 besøkende fra 145 land er ventet. Tusenvis av møter, oppfølging av kunder, jakt på nye kunder og øldrikking på Grand Place gjør denne uken til en av årets travleste for sjømatfolket. IntraFish legger løpende ut saker fra messen. Denne bloggen inneholder innlegg både på norsk og engelsk, da vi også vil videreformidle det våre journalister på intrafish.com skriver fra messa.
Thursday, May 8, 15.05 p.m. CET
Buyer: Continuous uncertainty for shrimp
Shrimp and seafood supplier Anduronda has been holding off on shrimp purchases due to "still complicated situation with EMS," Bernd Sattelberger, sales manager at the company, told IntraFish.
"It's still complicated with shrimp," he said. "Supply and prices are still uncertain and we're wondering if the United States and China will be buying big amounts again this year."
The company, which according to Sattelberger is Germany's biggest shrimp supplier, is purchasing from both Ecuador and Asia.
"It's difficult. Even though they've discovered the cause of EMS, no solution has been found. We're still uncertain how the situation will develop this year."
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, May 8, 13.53 p.m. CET
Nigeria and Ukrainethreaten pelagics
The ongoing instability in Ukraine combined with Nigeria shuttingits doors to imports, it casting a shadow over the entire pelagic industry, accordingto Haraldur Gretarsson, managing director of Deutsche Fischfang-Union, part ofthe Samherji group.
The Ukrainian currency has dropped at least 30 percent invalue since the crisis with Russia began, Gretarsson said, but this combinedwith the situation in Nigeria is the real concern, he said.
“Nigeria is closed and is only importing limited amounts offish. There will hopefully be a new pelagic quota in July, but if not therewill be a very serious problem,” Gretarsson said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Thursday, May 8, 13.50 p.m. CET
Sweet surimi cakes ahit
Japanese surimi producer Kibun has seen a lot of interestfor its sweet surimi cakes this year in Brussels.
The ‘datemaki’ products -- which are made from Alaskan pollocksurimi, egg and sugar, and come in sweet flavors such as green tea -- arealready popular in Japan and the United States, but do not have much of apresence yet in Europe, Yoko Kuwahara, sales manager at the company told IntraFish.
-- Dominic Welling
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Thursday, May 8, 13.43 p.m. CET
Viciunai targets growth in Europe and abroad
Lithuanian surimi producer Viciunai hauled in sales of about €400 million last year, and is targeting further growth in Europe and abroad.
"If 2014 is anything like the last years there will be generic growth of about 10-20 percent," Dirk Belmans, CEO of Viciunai Europe, told IntraFish.
Part of the growth will come from the production at the company's new plant in Lithuania, which was built last year, giving the company an additional capacity of 5,000 metric ton.
Across the whole group volume output is now at 120,000 metric tons, Belmans said.
"I think it makes sense for us to have the additional plant in Lithuania," he said, adding in terms of labor cost the country ranks as the third lowest within the European Union.
In the long-term, the company is focusing on three major areas: getting closer to resources and raw materials, investments in production and processing either close to market or raw materials, as well as investments in the sales and supply chain.
"These are long-term focus areas," Belmans said. In the short term, the company will invest in its Spanish facilities and product types by September and October this year.
Business is not only growing in Europe -- where the company making efforts to push more new products to existing customers as Belmans said -- but also in Japan, Brazil and Thailand, which is "growing steadily.
Exports to overseas countries currently still only account for under 10 percent of total sales, but Belmans calls it a "growing and exciting" part of the company's operations.
In terms of products, Viciunai introduced several new ones at Brussels. This not only includes the frozen -- such as the Pearl Bombs, which were nominated for the Prix d'Elite -- but also in chilled.
The new offerings include chilled Gyoza dumplings, traditional frozen surimi Muslitos, which will also be launched in chilled, as well as a newly launched frozen whitefish portions line, produced in Lithuania.
"This is not ground-breaking but it's new for us," Belmans said. The portioned fillets include Atlantic and Pacific cod, saithe, and Alaska pollock.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Thursday, May 8, 13.20 a.m. CET
Hake holds steady
It’s smooth sailing for the South African hake sector,according to one source dealing in the fish. The problem is a nice one: not havingenough product to sell.
“The markets are generally good,” the source said. “Ourchallenge is having enough stock – not new business.”
Around 44,000 metric tons of South African hake is availableon global markets – a drop in the bucket out of the 6 million metric tonsof wild whitefish produced worldwide.
Hake, which trades at a significant premium over Alaskapollock – some 30 percent – is very sought after in some European markets, andso far, moves by major branded companies to switch over to lower-cost producthasn’t been very effective.
Still, overall markets for Europe in any whitefish is astruggle, with many of the discount retailers setting unrealistic expectationsamong consumers for what fish products cost.
“It’s difficult because of the way Aldi and Lidl continue toplay,” the source said.
--Drew Cherry
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Thursday, May 8, 11.13 a.m. CET
Kilic puts focus on VAP; competitive pricing
Turkish bass and bream producer Kilic is presenting some of its new VAP products at the Brussels show, with which it aims to expand its fast-growing customer base.
The company, which produces about 35,000 metric tons of bass, bream, meagre and trout, is looking in particular at new markets such as Brazil and Argentina, adding to the long list of its 44 export countries.
The new offering includes a line of ready-to-cook bass and bream dishes, which can either be microwaved or cooked in the oven on a tray, or cooked in water in a clear pouch.
"We're definitely putting our focus of value-adding this year," M. Serkan Ergun, export assistant manager at the company, told IntraFish.
This is in line with the construction of a new VAP factory in Milas-Bodrum, as reported by IntraFish earlier this year. Within a month Kilic will be ready to start delivering the first shipments to its clients.
When asked about current bass and bream prices, Ergun said, the company will continue to offer "competitive prices against Greek producers.
"Greek prices are always higher," he said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 6.04 p.m. CET
New P&P targets €800 million turnover
Dutch firm Parlevliet & Van der Plas (P&P) is looking at sales in the amount of €800 million in 2014, Dirk-Jan Parlevliet, managing director at the firm, told IntraFish.
This will include the in January acquired shrimp group Heiploeg, which most recently reported a turnover of €280 million.
The Heiploeg integration is well underway, he said. “We’re very happy and it’s a very exciting time for us.”
In the mid-term P&P will focus on product innovation and leveraging synergies for the other business units within the group.
Earlier this year, the company also invested €70 million in two new frozen-at-sea vessels, which will be ready for operation by the end of the year, Oskar Sigmundsson, managing director at P&P sister German Seafrozen Fish, told IntraFish.
“The market is willing to buy frozen-at-sea; we’re seeing good demand,” he said.
Especially cod is “en vogue,” and the company is seeing better market conditions going forward. Prices for both fillets and H&G are increasing, Sigmundsson said.
“We see general optimism in the [seafood] market,” Parlevliet added.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.53 p.m. CET
In the zone
Carson Roper, the newly appointed international business development manager for Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA’s) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) was at the IntraFish luncheon today talking to us about the importance of zonal management -- “nobody operates in a vaccum,” he said.
Roper will be working closely with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and its Aquaculture Improvement Project in several countries in GAA’s new push towards zonal management in its standards.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.47 p.m. CET
Anova to challenge farmed salmon
Dutch supplier Anova is planning to enter the market with a new single frozen wild salmon product in the third quarter of the year, which it believes will be able to challenge the farmed salmon sector.
Hendrik Colpaert, unit manager of marketing and retail, said that the single frozen wild salmon will be cheaper than farmed salmon and have a competitive edge, because it is wild.
Elsewhere, Colpaert said there was still a lot to do for pangasius. “We must focus on the water content in pangasius fillets and tier the different quality fillets like they do in the salmon industry,” he said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.45 p.m. CET
Cod prices head up
The prices of Pacific and Atlantic cod are rising and the processing market needs to re-adjust to these new levels, Jason Parsons from Unibond told IntraFish.
With higher catches, appetite has increased and now there is a good demand for cod.
“In fact demand is outweighing supply now,” Parsons said. “There is a good demand from our customers for all our products. We saw this market coming and now we need to adjust to it.”
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.37 p.m. CET
Irish eyes smiling on Asia
With Europe slowing down, Donegal-based shellfish exporter Errigal Seafood is increasingly moving its products into the Asian markets, primarily China and Korea.
“We are definitely facing a lull,” said Pedro Fernandes, who heads up Portugal and Spain sales for the company. “So that’s being compensated.”
Errigal is the largest producer of brown crab, with over 3,000 metric tons processed at its two factories last year – double the volume of its main competitor.
“That’s a good claim,” Fernandes said.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.33 p.m. CET
A good time to be in coho
Farmed coho inventories in Japan are well below the five-year average, and prices are being quoted as high as JPY870/kilo, according to Rodrigo Urzua, commercial manager at Puerto Montt-based Salmones Austral, parent company of coho producer Salmones Pacific Star and Atlantic salmon producer Trusal.
“Everybody is looking for coho, but nobody is ready to make a commitment,” Urzua said.
The coho harvesting season won’t begin until September and October, so prices will come down to earth prior to then, but still – Japanese buyers are preparing to pay more, particularly with the continued low run of Bristol Bay sockeye, which competes with coho on the Japanese market in the kirimi sector.
In favor of the red-fleshed salmon producers is the high bar set last year: Bristol Bay sockeye was reaching as much as JPY1,000/kilo.
“The psychological price for Japan is now around JPY600, so if the price is at that level, that’s OK for producers,” Urzua said.
Coho production out of Chile is expected to be around the same as it was last year: 120,000 metric tons. Around 60 percent of that volume will go into Japan, but Russia and Brazil have been demanding more, which is only making Chilean coho suppliers smile more.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.26 p.m. CET
Croatian bass, bream producer eyes Russian, US markets
Cromaris, a Croatia-based seabass and seabream producer is looking to expand into the Russian and US market, and is currently negotiating with importers in the countries.
In the course, the company which farms its fish in five farms in the Adriatic Sea is aiming to ramp up production from currently 5,000 metric tons to 10,000 metric tons, Marko Kajmak, sales manager at the company, told IntraFish.
Italy is the company’s biggest market – and continued to grow despite economic difficulties in the region. Other key markets are in eastern Europe, but also Germany, France and Austria.
To differentiate itself from mass producers in Greece and Turkey, it is placing itself as a premium product – also in terms of pricing.
“We want to level our price at stable price,” Lovre Peraic, brand manager, said.
Organic certifications – such as Naturland, Bio, and Agriculture Biologique – play a major role in this strategy, he said.
The company reported a turnover of €25 million in 2013 on sales of 4,000 metric tons. About 65 percent of the total production is exported.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.24 p.m. CET
High end DIY sushi
As the price and quality of sushi products is spiraling ever lower in supermarkets, a gap is emerging for high end sushi products in retail, believes Martin Brugman, president of Culimer.
Using ‘superfrozen’ fish, Culimer is launching a new high end ‘sushi at home’ range direct into retailers.
“The quality of sushi in supermarkets keeps spiraling with lower cost prices, until you are left with what can only be described as rice with cucumber,” said Brugman.
“I believe there is a market for the high end foodservice sushi transferred into the retail sector,” he said.
“There are some logistical challenges, however,” said Brugman. For example, this means supermarkets will have to be able to store the product at levels of around -45 degrees Celsius to keep the high quality.
Similar products are already available in Whole Foods in the US, and Brugman is in discussions with retailers in the Netherlands and Germany.
“We need the cold chain in place… I think we will be selling in the supermarkets in the next 2-3 months,” he said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.13 p.m. CET
Jetsetting seaweed
The Korean market holds little appeal for Korean seaweed producer Jaewon Global Net -- “it is very crowded so prices are low. We would rather export,” said President Inseop Noh.
Instead the $5 million company prefers to focus on 15 other international markets including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, China and even Turkey.
Noh is also flying out to South Africa and Indonesia later in the year to see if he can open up further new markets.
New products are also heavily on the agenda with three recently launched by the company including Kimchi-flavored seaweed sheets and wakame -- seaweed generally used to add to miso soup.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 4.45 p.m. CET
Global fish stocks 10 times bigger than previously thought?
Spanish scientists believe global fish stocks amount to more than 10,000 million metric tons, and that about 95 percent of the stocks are not used in commercial fisheries.
In a global expedition -- the Malaspina Expedition -- the researchers looked at stocks in depths of 200 to 1,000 meters, and found more fish than expected.
The project was carried out under the umbrella of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation's Consolider Ingenio 2010 program, and was led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) with support from the Spanish Navy.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 4.29 p.m. CET
Bold words
Norwegian salmon supplier Coast Seafood definitely has high ambitions, both for its company and for its industry.
CEO Sverre Soraa told a surprisingly large crowd that the seafood industry will one day dwarf Norway's most important industry today: oil.
"Fish farming will be here long after the oil age is over," he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 4.27 p.m. CET
India: Sustainable or sliding towards disaster?
India’s seafood exports rose an incredible 45 percent last year, skyrocketing to $5 billion in value.
Great news. But when you hear news of soaring production, it is hard not to think immediately of Chilean salmon, of Greek seabass and bream or indeed of Thai shrimp production.
“We are always keeping sustainability in mind,” said Leena Nair, chairman of India’s Marine Product Export Development Authority when we asked her about the risks.
“We are taking all the precautions necessary,” she told us.
Markets are currently pretty spread for the producer, with the EU, the United States and Southeast Asia taking fairly equal shares.
“This gives us a comfortable feeling,” said Nair.
Shrimp has obviously been a driving force in the production increase, but fish is also playing a role, and Asia seabass (barramundi), cobia and tilapia are all being trialled for future production, Nair told us.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 4.18 p.m. CET
Lenk Seafood aims for shrimp ASC first
Bangkok-headquartered Lenk Frozen Foods Asia is actively working on the achieving the new ASC standard for its frozen shrimp products, Heiko Lenk, CEO at the company, told IntraFish.
“Sustainability is key,” he said. So far, all of the company’s products under the Top Sea brand are either ASC or GlobalGAP certified.
The company introduced two new products in time for the Brussels show; GlobalGAP-certified barramundi fillets in a 500-grams box, and a 400-grams pack of GlobalGAP-certified head-on vannamei, which will hit the European market in summer this year.
Following the successful ASC certification for shrimp, it will further expand its product range, Lenk said.
The company is mainly selling to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Benelux, delivering to retailers such as Edeka, Rewe, and Kaufland, as well as soft discounters such as Netto and Penny.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 3.38 p.m. CET
Is China the next big cod market?
Why is the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) investing in getting Norwegian cod into Norway?
Because Norway has a lot of cod and China is the world's biggest consumer market, NSC Communication Advisor Geir Bakkevoll told IntraFish when he stopped by the booth earlier.
Well, ask an obvious question, get an obvious answer, I suppose.
With new budgets for finding new markets, NSC has just begun its research into the Chinese market for cod, but was encouraged by the turn-out at a meeting it held this morning for Norwegian cod producers.
"We expected 20 people and got 41," said Bakkevoll.
If they bring the products, we'll pave the way in China, was the message.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 3.35 p.m. CET
Aquaculture parksbreed a future for Brazil
It’s becoming a slightly tired sentiment that Brazil is tobecome a major aquaculture producer, but the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquacultureis putting its money where its mouth is, investing BRL 500 million ($224million/€161 million) in 100 aquaculture parks over the last three years, with100 more on the cards in the near future.
The Ministry is also providing BRL 4 billion ($1.8 billion /€1.3billion) in credit for companies to set up in the sector, Sebastiao SaldanhaNeto, director at the Department of Incentives told IntraFish.
The parks are meant for farming species appropriate to thearea in which they are located – tilapia and tambaqui in the north and carp inthe south.
And shrimp is still on the cards after Brazil’s productionand market crisis several years ago, where we saw the product go from 90 percentexported to 90 percent imported.
“It is slowly growing back – both production and markets,”said Neto.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 3.28 p.m. CET
Dawnfresh gets Freedom Food certificate for rainbow trout
Dawnfreshhas become the first company in the UK to receive RSPCA Freedom Foodcertification for farmed rainbow trout. The company was instrumental ininitiating and developing the new welfare standards, which are the first to beestablished by Freedom Food for any species in the last 10 years.
Dawnfreshrainbow trout can now carry the Freedom Food logo on its packaging.
“Dawnfreshfarms are already managed in compliance with Code of Good Practice and the fishare grown to Quality Trout UK standards,” explained Barry Chung, commercialdirector at Dawnfresh.
FreedomFood aims to improve the welfare of animals farmed for food and cover key areassuch as water quality, stocking density, handling, health, slaughter andtransportation, as well as wider environmental impacts.
Thecompany produces both freshwater portion size trout -- typically 425 grams --and larger sea-grown trout up to 7 kilos. These ‘Loch Etive OceanTrout’ branded fish have good markets in the United States, with growingmarkets in France, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa and Japan. In particular, the ocean trout are gaining a name amongst international chefsfor use in sushi and sashimi.
“Ourfish are fed, nurtured and monitored to ensure they perform well and remain ingood health, which is important for providing the best quality fish and seafoodproducts. They are kept in deep nets that give them plenty of room toswim and thrive,” explained Fish Health Manager Richard Hopewell.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 3.10 p.m. CET
Consumer research, investments and fun -- or how to grow a brand
Icelandic Group-owned The Saucy Fish Co brand grew from a start-up to a turnover of €100 million within five years, Simon Smith, marketing director at Icelandic UK, told the audience at today’s IntraFish Person of the Year luncheon.
The secret? In-depth consumer research, brand investments and a lot of fun. “It’s about fun, it’s about change and about breaking the rules, actually,” he said.
Icelandic is looking back at an unrepeated success story with Saucy Fish: in the United Kingdom alone, it is now available in 80 percent of the total retail market.
More than 50 percent of the Saucy Fish shoppers are incremental, Smith said, while 25 percent are new shoppers when newly launched at retailers.
Smith brought up the example of the launch at Tesco, where it racked up sales of £3.5 million of sales within the first 12 weeks.
The recent launch in the United States was also a success, Smith said, and the firm is now in discussions with “many other retailers.”
He urged the audience to “grow the market together” without stealing each other’s sales. “That’s not going to help anybody,” he said, also referring to the court case Icelandic Seachill is filing against discounter Aldi over what it claims is a copycat version of Saucy products.
Concluding, he gave some tips how to grow a brand. It’s important to understand what a brand is, and that it’s deeper than just a name.
“The name is the least important,” he said. All focus should be on color, shape, illustration, language, typography and personality.
Being different, know a company’s culture, and the knowledge that consumers don’t like corporations helps too.
Thinking like a consumer not a manufacturer and “being a force for good” are other key elements to successful brand development, he said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 3.01 p.m. CET
Saucy Fish a CoolBrand also next year
Icelandic Group's The Saucy Fish Co recently secured a CoolBrand listing in the United Kingdom, and will score also next year, Simon Smith, marketing director at the firm, said.
"We're included again in the 2014/2015 CoolBrand listing," he said.
The announcement will be made in fall this year.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 14.10 p.m. CET
A smart way to grow mussels
SmartFarm, manufacturers of high-capacity mussel farmingsystems, was on hand in Brussels showing its technology.
Unlike traditional mussel farming in which lines of seed arehung from floating rafts, the SmartFarm system uses a net similar to a trawlnet suspended from a polyethylene pipe. Ultimately the mussels are harvested bya machine that gently brushes them from the netting and pumps them to the service.
Production can reach as high as 30 tons an hour, so thesystem is designed for large-scale mussel growing operations, Mads van Deurs ofSmartFarm told IntraFish.
The systems are being used in Denmark, Germany, Bulgariaand elsewhere, he said.
-- John Fiorillo
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Wednesday, May 7, 13.50 p.m. CET
Santa Bremor repositions itself as ‘Caviar House’ for Brussels
Belarusian processor Santa Bremor is exhibiting at Brussels for the first time this year, and is focusing on pushing its caviar range above all.
“We have changed our marketing strategy to position ourselves as a caviar house,” said Wasily Tessin, Santa Bremor’s head of sales in Europe.
The company is known for its surimi products in Europe, but this year it is all about the caviar.
“Our partners in the EU have to pay a 20 percent duty when they buy from us… surimi is cheaper so they pay the duty but don’t earn much. Caviar however is more expensive so they are able to earn more,” Tessin said.
The company processes caviar of capelin, salmon, pollock, cod and flying fish.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 13.35 p.m. CET
A good problem to have
Smoked trout is starting to compete more and more directly with its salmon counterpart, and the market just keeps on growing, according to Morten Klausen, export manager at Aqualande.
“The smoked trout market is increasing a lot… while it used to be a niche product, it has now become a genuine alternative to smoked salmon,” Klausen said.
But with the increasing demand, the company is struggling to keep up.
“Since 2008 we have doubled sales to around €70 million or 2,500 tons, and next year we hope to grow this again by about 20-25 percent.
“But it is a frustrating situation as the market is bigger than we can supply, but this is a good problem to have,” Klausen said.
Aqualande produces around 10,000 tons of trout per year. Through its brand Ovive, smoked trout is its main product, with the company selling around 2,500 tons per year. Aqualande also exports trout caviar to Japan and the USA, another market it is looking to grow, Klausen said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 13.19 p.m. CET
Seafood Connection opens Spanish office
Seafood supplier Seafood Connection has opened a new office in Madrid, Spain.
The importer, exporter and distributor of seafood products – in particular aquaculture products pangasius and tilapia – has opened the office to meet a “growing demand,” according to Jacobo Fernandez, the company’s new commercial director in Spain.
“It is a market that is not covered properly, and since our joint operation with Maruha Nichiro, it is the perfect time to expand our network in Europe,” Fernandez said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 13.05 p.m. CET
Period of consolidation for Spanish frozen fish trader
Delfin Ultracongelados has plans to “seriously” keep growing, according to Caroline Boureau, the company’s export sales director.
“We are hopeful about the future, but this is a period of consolidating in our markets,” she said.
“It is not about more and more clients, but getting more products to existing clients.”
The company saw its sales grow 7.6 percent in 2013 to €77.4 million, with exports driving growth.
Exports increased 9.2 percent in 2013 compared with 2012, representing 13.5 percent of total sales.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 11.47 a.m. CET
Plumping upprocessing profits
Collagen is a growing market for seafood processor LeagueFoods, who is using the eyes and skin left from its value-added tilapiaprocessing to produce collagen drinks and masks for a growing US market.
Its core business is also flourishing, with sales last yearof $1.2 billion from its two Chinese factories, according to Sales ManagerAlissa Liu.
A major supplier to US retail giant WalMart as well as US,Japanese and European foodservice, the company produces a range of processedand breaded tilapia and shrimp from its two south China factories in Hainan andBeihai.
The only challenge on the horizon? Predictably, labor costs.But this will hopefully be solved with the installation of more equipment inthe coming months, said Liu.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Onsdag 7. mai 11.40:
- I går var det full trøkk fra start til slutt. Vi har hattmøter med en rekke eksisterende kunder, men også med noen potensielle kunder,sier Igeland til Intrafish.
Igeland mener at kjøperne nå har vent seg til den relativthøye lakseprisen.
- Noen av dem vi snakker med er opptatt av at ikke prisenskal falle kraftig, for så å stige igjen. De ønsker stabilitet, sier han.
-- Anders Furuset
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- For oss, som sikkert mange andre her, er dette åretshappening. Her får vi møtt alle kundene våre på et sted, sier Thorbeck.
I tillegg til kundemøter, arrangerte også Fishpool et egetseminar mandag kveld.
Ifølge Thorbeck er det en del ”stressetevidereforedlingsselskaper” som følge av det høye prisnivået, menfremtidskontraktene er lavere priset. Kontrakter for tredje kvartal 2014handles midt på 30-tallet.
- Men vi ser at en del er bekymret for høye priser forfjerde kvartal og 2015, og mange sikrer seg ved å kjøpe kontrakter. For2015-kontrakten har vi kjøpere som ligger på 39 kroner.
Fishpool deler stand med sin eier Oslo Børs. På standen harde rigget opp en terminal for å handle kontrakter, samt et fussball-spill, hvoralle som vinner over en Fishpool-ansatt får en eske sjokolade.
-- Anders Furuset
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Wednesday, May 7, 11.40 a.m. CET
MSC watching development of social, labor standards
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) board considered whether its eco-label standard should be expanded to cover social and labor criteria related to the harvesting and processing of seafood. Its decision: No, at least not at this time.
During the group's update meeting at the Brussels seafood show on Wednesday, MSC CEO Rupert Howes reminded those gathered that the MSC standard is based on ecological sustainability. That said, he told the crown the MSC is monitoring developments of social and labor standards in the seafood industry.
- John Fiorillo
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Wednesday, May 7, 11.28 a.m. CET
Chinese producer feels pain of possible US caviar ban
Sweeping measures in the US market to ban certain types of caviar are set to hit China-based Kaluga Queen hard if they go through.
Based on concern over sustainability of several species of wild sturgeon, the decision does not take into account that some of the caviar is coming from farmed fish, as is the case with the Hangzhou farmer.
“They don’t care if it’s wild or farmed, but it will affect us [if the ban goes through],” said Wang.
The company produced 23 metric tons of caviar last year -- worth $25 million -- from its lake-farmed sturgeon, selling mostly to the United States and Europe.
Replacing the US slice of the market will be tough if imports are banned, says Wang. Russia is too protectionist as a market, and while many Chinese consumers have the money to buy caviar, the culture is simply not there, Wang explained.
Competition is also increasing – there are around 20-30 caviar producers here at the show this year, Wang noted. And of these, one of the most notable upcoming producers is Vietnam -- “They always manage to do everything cheaper in Vietnam,” said Wang.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Wednesday, May 7, 11.24 a.m. CET
Labeyrie eyes expansion in Germany/Austria
French smoked salmon producer Labeyrie is looking to roll out its extensive product range further throughout Europe.
Already strong in France, Belgium and Italy, the company now wants to develop its brand through retailers in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, Francois Le Gallo, commercial director at Labeyrie told IntraFish.
In particular the company is looking to develop its organic range, which is already a hit in Germany and Austria, Le Gallo said.
The company recorded a turnover of €750 million in 2013.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 11.18 a.m. CET
Only the strong will survive
With the high raw material prices continuing to squeeze most smoked salmon producers, only the powerful brands will survive, according Francois Le Gallo, commercial director at Labeyrie Fine Foods.
The challenge of high raw material prices and production costs remains in the market, and it has become “crucial” to pass these costs on to the customer.
“In an economic market it is absolutely crucial to pass these costs onto the customer if companies want to avoid bankruptcy,” Le Gallo said.
Labeyrie has managed to pass on the increased costs onto its retail customers, and while some refused to accept the price increases, most accepted them, Le Gallo said. “We were ready to lose a portion of the market,” he said.
“Having a powerful brand is so important, the strong brands will survive.”
Le Gallo added he expects raw material prices to remain high for some time yet, and this is bound to affect consumption trends.
-- Dominic Welling
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Wednesday, May 7, 7.17 a.m. CET
Morubel sale 'within a month'
Belgian frozen shrimp supplier Morubel will be under new ownership within a month, Nadine Verbruggen, commercial director at the company, told IntraFish.
"The banks [under the lead of Rabobank] are still in discussions with four to five potential buyers, and have to agree on a price," she said. "We should have a decision in a few weeks."
Verbruggen, who joined the company only weeks before former parent company Heiploeg was declared bankrupt and sold to Parlevliet & Van der Plas in January this year, said ideally it will be a partner "who can help us grow."
She declined to share details on potential buyers.
In 2014, the company is targeting grow from its turnover €82 million, she said, and is aiming to increase its sales by 10 percent in 2015.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 7:07 a.m. CET
Giving Vietnam a chance
Klaus Nielsen, CEO of Danish group Espersen, said thedecision to purchase its new Vietnam plant – which it acquired at the end oflast year from a former Japanese owner, was a fairly easy one.
The turn-key plant, which was built in 2011 and is already fullyoperational, is extremely modern and perfectly suited for the H&G cod andhaddock reprocessing the group is doing primarily for its US customers. Giventhe inflation in China, Espersen decided to try the new locale, which bringsits Asian plants up to three with the two in Qingdao.
“With the inflation in China, it’s turning out to be theright decision,” he said.
Does that mean Vietnam will be “the new China”? Hardly,Nielsen said.
“China is extremely unique,” he said. “There will never beanything like it.”
The biggest thing on Nielsen’s mind currently is his company’snewly opened Russian plant. While everything has been smooth sailing so far,given the political conditions he concedes that “there might be some hiccups.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 7:01 a.m. CET
David vs. Goliath
It was only three weeks ago when Cristian Norambuena -- a former Marine Harvest Chile employee -- decided to open a new chapter in his life and set up Chilean trading company Salmon Connection.
Focusing on frozen Chilean salmon and trout, he aims to target importers and foodservice clients untapped markets such as Malaysia and Turkey, he said when IntraFish run into him at the Brussels showfloor.
"It's a little like David vs. Goliath," he said, as more and more customers cut out the middlemen and source directly from farmers. "But that's why I want to focus on new export markets."
Sourcing from Multiexport, Cermaq Chile and Ventisqueros, he aims to initially sell about 1,000 metric tons of frozen H&G and salmon fillets a year.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 6:15 a.m. CET
An Alpine giant, serious about seafood
You may have heard the name DKSH, in large part because it’shard not to. The €7 billion company supplies everything from cosmetics to potato chips, and though its seafood division fliesunder the radar, Brian Robertson, in purchasing and product development at DKSHUK, and Germany-based Kai Langheim, seafood sales manager, are quietly buildingup a company that is poised to make a big splash.
Switzerland-based DKSH’s roughly $45 million seafooddivision may be small, but the sheer size and scope of the company mean that ifand when the switch gets turned on, the seafood industry could see asignificant new player.
Robertson and Langheim make a good team; Robertson brings awealth of new product development ideas to the table that Langheim can offer pleasantlysurprised customers around Europe.
Robertson’s ideas – particularly its range of chef-readyfoodservice items – are proving a big hit among customers, particularly giventhe lack of sophisticated cooking skills in most restaurants nowadays.
“One of the key things is understanding what the customersneed,” Robertson said. “You need to know their facilities, their cookingstyles, their customers.”
DKSH produces the product to its specs at a partner factoryin China, and supplies its products at around a 30 percent split betweenSwitzerland, Continental Europe and the UK.
DKSH’s SeaBear brand isn’t a massive presence – yet – but Robertsonand Langheim are pushing into the retail segment with tuna and salmon burgers,and using bagged prawns and pangasius – customer favorites -- as “the dooropener.”
With DKSH’s distribution network – the company is primarily known forhelping companies identifying and distribute to new markets in Asia – the flowof goods could easily be reversed, and some of those innovations that areproving a hit in Europe could be making their way to countries such as China.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 7, 6:12 a.m. CET
Waiting for Mr. Right
Nantes-based shrimp supplier Crustamar keeps a tight reignon its suppliers, particularly in the wake of “Horsegate,” which caused ripplesthrough the French food industry.
“Industrial buyers really want quality control,” Crustamar’sZahra Lazreg said. “So we want to develop a relationship with our supplier tohelp develop trust with our customer.”
That means that unlike other suppliers, Crustamar, whichdoes 80 percent of its business in the shrimp sector, doesn’t seek out dozensof companies for its raw materials. “We look for one,” she said.
Like every other shrimp-focused company, Crustamar has hadto weather what has proved to be perhaps the most difficult sector to be inover the last two years. It’s approach, however, has been a unique one.
“When we knew about the problem and knew prices were goingup, we immediately informed our customers, and they appreciated that we warnedthem,” Lazreg said. “But it’s difficult to tell a French company, ‘Our supplieris short on product and prices are going up, so we have to push your prices up.’”
Lazreg said Crustamar is seeing stability in the market andsome sizes dropping in price, which she sees as a positive omen for this year.
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 6:00 CET
The next wild ride
For high-end wild seafood supplier Sovintex, it’s a waitinggame to find out what exactly this year is going to bring for its wild salmonbusiness.
“The big questionmark is Canada,” Thomas Canetti, CEO of the Paris-based company, said, echoingother salmon suppliers. “If that happens, it completely changes the marketdynamics.”
However, Canetti, who has represented Bellingham, Washingtonbased SPC Sales for 15 years, doesn’t expect a major drop in price given thehigh demand for wild salmon among his sustainability-conscious customers, orthe price of similar species.
“Farmed salmon prices are extremely expensive, and thatmeans even with more sockeye, prices should hold firm,” he said.
Sovintex supplies a range of sustainable species, includingorganic salmon from Ireland, Scotland and Norway. It price-conscious France,the segment can be tricky.
“The international demand for fish is growing and growing,”he said. “Europe has got to fight for fish. The challenge is finding that sweetspot.”
--Drew Cherry
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Wednesday, May 7, 5.58 a.m. CET
Sexy frozen shrimp -- and a bit of rock'n'roll
Frozen shrimp supplier Morubel, which was separated from its previous parent group Heiploeg in January this year, is taking on the Brussels show with a new logo, new packaging and new products.
The company introduced frozen wok shrimp with marinade, natural or provencal King Prawns, a sustainable seafood mix and a Crispy Apero Mix combining breaded Seabob shrimp and breaded mussels in time for the show.
"We had gotten into the Heiploeg style and now we're looking to find our own style and identity," Chris Meskens, communication manager at the company told IntraFish.
"Frozen is often very boring so we thought we'd give it some sexyness and some rock'n'roll," she said.
The company's departure from Heiploeg was "quite a shock" and a lot of work was required to get Moruble on its own feet again.
"But it also gives a new boost and focus on frozen again," she said.
The company now processes almost 13,000 metric tons of shrimp a year, which is almost at full capacity, and has a turnover of €82 million, Meskens told IntraFish.
It is now focusing on new concepts, new products and its main markets in Europe, mainly providing private label products to retailers.
Germany will be a key market for the firm, Meskens said. "We were big in Germany in the past and want to get back to our old strength," she said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Wednesday, May 7, 5:45 a.m. CET
Suppliers show interest in new temperature tag system
Tag Sensors is in Brussels showing its Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for tracking and measuring the temperature of seafood in transit.
And according to Managing Director Knut Nygard, the company’s product is being well received. He said companies such as Salmar, Leroy and Yadran agreed at the show to give Tag Sensors product a try.
TAG Sensors is an international partnership between key people from TAG Systems and Trace-Tech ID Solutions, leading providers of payment cards and RFID technology and solutions.
The main advantage with RFID tags is the ability to perform contactless reading and updating with a read range up to several meters. Reading distance is based on RFID antenna size, shape and installed antenna equipment and tuning on site.
The company’s low-cost Baptag Memory Battery Assisted Passive Tag provides seafood shippers with several advantages, including:
- Printed battery: no heavy metal or toxic components.
- Measures temperature frequency set by the sender
- Battery last for two years when its not in use
- Measure temperature 500 times and data is stored in the chip
- Using the battery only when it wake up for measuring
- All tags have a uniqe ID and theft control
-- John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 7.30 p.m. CET
Kermaree and Vilsund Blue win Seafood Prix d’Elite
Kermaree and Vilsund Blue were awarded the top prizes in the 14th annual Seafood Prix d’Elite new products competition at Seafood Expo Global on Tuesday in Brussels. The winners were selected from a field of 34 finalists.
Kermaree of Blainville-sur-Mer, France, won the best new retail product with Coffret Plateau de Fruits de Mer, a convenient kit with four varieties of langoustines, shrimp, crab claws and whelks packed in individual trays and stacked in a cardboard carton with two display windows.
In the foodservice category, the top prize was awarded to Vilsund Blue of Nykobing, Denmark, for its Mussel Powder, a flavoring powder made of wild, sustainable blue mussels caught in Denmark’s Limfjord. Produced with no additives, the powder can be used to enhance the taste of seafood dishes and sauces, and also with poultry, meat and vegetables.
Five special awards were also handed out: Kermaree’s Coffret Plateau de Fruits de Mer also won a special prize for health and nutrition.
Marine Harvest VAP Europe from Brugge, Belgium, won a special award for convenience for its Salmon Filo Pastry Pie. Paella 1-2-3 Delfin by Delfin Ultracongelados of Ontigola, Spain, was presented a special award for retail packaging. The Big Prawn Company took home a special award for originality for its Double Dippers Prawn Cracker and it also won the Seafood Prix d’Elite special award for seafood product line for the three-flavor Double Dippers line.
The judges for the 2014 Seafood Prix d’Elite new products competition were Juergen Pauly (chairman), fresh fish category manager with Globus in Germany; Gorka Azkona, head buyer of fresh fish for Grupo Eroski in Spain; Debby Verheyen, seafood product expert for Delhaize Supermarkets in Belgium; Thibault Faucon, supply chain manager for Sodexo in Luxemburg; Keith Stanley, executive chef with Harbour & Jones in the United Kingdom; Stefanie Anton, director, European quality center at McDonald’s Europe; and Isabelle Kergourlay, seafood buyer for Picard Surgelés in France.
John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 5.30 p.m. CET
Expect more product development and faster
Marel is all about streamlining at the moment and customers can expect to see “more product development and faster,” according to Bergur Gudmundsson, project sales manager at the company’s fish division.
The company is focusing on transfer the technology it already has in its other sectors – poultry and meat – into the fish side of things, he said.
“But it is all about the customer, we are working with our customers throughout the process, and as they become more and more under pressure, we are responsive to that,” he said.
In particular for whitefish processing, the company is working hard to meet the increased requirements of its customers in Iceland and Norway.
“Demand for processed fresh fish is increasing, but labor is scarce in Norway and Iceland. So the expectation of the industry is that this increased volume will be met with automation – this is our contribution,” Gudmundsson said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 4.48 p.m. CET
National Prawn Company pulls back from brink, sets bar high
What do you do when the product you’ve named your company after fails? Simple. Rename yourself and start again with a modest aim of a 100,000 metric ton production by 2020.
Enter Saudi Arabia’s National Aquaculture Group -- which most will know better as the National Prawn Company -- on a massive booth only a failed Saudi company could afford.
After whitespot wiped out the company’s sizeable shrimp production two years ago, it dried everything out and started again with barramundi, sea cucumber, algae, and again with shrimp.
It is now producing 20,000 metric tons of barramundi, which COO and ex-Nutreco poultry division CEO Jaap Berkenbosch, describes as ‘the perfect fish’.
IntraFish questioned producing such large volumes for what is still a relatively small market -- 20,000 tons accounts for almost a third of world production -- but Berkenbosch told us “I prefer to see it in the context of the wider whitefish market, as opposed to the ‘barramundi market’.”
Not keen to let one crisis hold it back, the company is now also the world’s largest algae producer, with a contract with BASF to harvest, process and sell-on its 1,250 hectares worth of product.
And 70,000 metric tons of shrimp is back on the menu as of next month, too, with important lessons learned from the disease fall-out.
Using imported SPF broodstock instead of wild-caught and changing the entire system – water exchange, stocking time etc – and strict regulation from the Saudi government, Berkenbosch is confident this time the story will be different.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 4.10 p.m. CET
Biomar, Sagun form Turkish feed JV
Feed producer Biomar and seabass and bream producer Sagun have formed a feed joint venture, including a feed factory in Turkey.
The factory is expected to enter operation towards the end of 2015, and will supply fish feed to both Turkey and some of the its neighboring countries.
Turkish aquaculture production has grown to around 20,000 tons of fish and today Turkey is the largest aquaculture nation Europe after Norway, producing seabass, bream and also trout to the European market.
“Turkey… still has tremendous growth potential with excellent natural conditions for fish farming, a growing domestic fish consumption as well as good access to export markets for both fish and fish feed,” said Biomar CEO Torben Svejgaard.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 4.07 p.m. CET
Hellenic looks to organic bass/bream
Greek bass and bream producer Hellenic Fish Farming believes product differentiation and untapped markets are the way forward for the industry.
“Everybody looks for cheaper prices but we must focus on product innovation and quality,” said Thanos Kargopoulos, the company’s export manager.
According to Kargopoulos, companies which focus on price are only interested in short term relationships.
“Price cannot be number one, in the long term it comes down to quality and a steady quality at that,” he said.
That is why Hellenic is trying its hand at organic bass and bream which it thinks is filling a gap in the market. One of its 21 ongrowing farms is currently going for organic status.
“We must also look at value added products – frozen, fillets, ready meals etc – and expand our product range.”
Furthermore Japan could be a new potential market for Greek bass and bream, claims Kargopoulos.
“Bream is the second most consumed fish in Japan in terms of sushi, so there is a huge potential there,” he said. Other “emerging” markets for Greek bass and bream are Australia and continental United States, he added.
Hellenic produces 10,000 tons of bass and bream a year, 75-80 percent of which is exported. Prices are hovering around €5 - €5.50 per kilo, according to Kargopoulos.
-- Dominic Welling
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- Vi satser mye mot Asia, og har blant annet ansatt eikinesisk dame, sier Aasvang til IntraFish.
-- Anders Furuset
----
Innovasjon Norge er tilstedet med rundt 20 ansatte på stand,samt egne kokker.
-- Anders Furuset
----
- Kundene ser fram til at prisene skal falle videre, sierselger Per Arne Pedersen til IntraFish.
Han mener at det er ”helt umulig å si noe sikkert om priseneframover”.
- Men de kommer kanskje ned mot 35 kroner. Det vil i så fallføre til at nye markeder kommer på banen, og at prisene kanskje stiger igjen.
-- Anders Furuset
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Steinar Bakka, salgsdirektør i Sirena, tror på et prisfall.
- Vi ser at det er klare forventninger om betydelig mer fiskde neste 3-4 månedene, og prisene skal ned. Vi får kanskje en korreksjon somvil vare en stund, sier Bakka.
- Det er imponerende at vi per uke 16 hadde eksportert18.000 tonn mer fisk enn i fjor på det prisnivået vi har hatt.
Bakka mener at markedet har tilpasset seg et nytt prisnivå,og at priser på 5,5 euro ikke er noe problem å opprettholde.
-- Anders Furuset
--------
Odd Strøm, administrerende direktør i Nova Sea, forteller athan har fullt program, med en rekke avtalte møter.
- Pris er ikke noe stort tema i kundemøtene. Vi snakker myeom hva vi kan levere av volumer fremover.
Strøm sier videre at de har slitt, og fortsatt sliter med,lakselus.
Nova Sea har samtidig sikret seg god tilgang på rensefisk,både rognkjeks og bergnebb.
- Vi har full dekning på alle utsett.
Selskapet passer på å ha tilstrekkelig kapasitet i forholdtil vasking av nøter, hydroperoksid.
- En kan ikke komme uforberedt inn i sesongen.
-- Anders Furuset
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Tuesday, May 6, 3.29 p.m. CET
French retailers still hesitant on salmon deals
France’s major retailers are still hesitating to close onnew smoked salmon contracts, as they’re waiting for prices to go further down,Romain Marce, managing director at Suempol-owned Marcel Baey, told IntraFish.
“It is a difficult market,” he said, especially for a ‘new’company such as Marcel Baey itself.
“But retailers are also interested to give a smaller company such as an opportunity to sell,” he said, adding many prefer smaller players to the big guns of thelikes of Morpol and Marine Harvest.
This year, the company is targeting hypermarkets, and isaiming to seal several contracts with some of the French supermarket chains.
“We want to grow,” he said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 3.20 p.m. CET
Feeding on aquaculture's growth
For Skretting Head Global Salmon Feed Operations StevenRafferty, a lot has changed in the 20 years that he’s been going to theBrussels show.
“I think the level of sophistication has changeddramatically,” he said. “Back then, there were a lot of one, two personoperations. Today, aquaculture has become an extremely attractive industry tobe a part of.”
The “super profits” the farmed salmon sector is raking in maybe an overall positive for the aquaculture industry, but for Nutreco andSkretting, stability is the goal.
“We’d rather see a profitable industry, but it doesn’t maketoo much of a difference to us,” he said. “We are there to achieve a stableEBIT margin.”
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 3:15 p.m. CET
Rooney's new logo
Ireland’s Rooney Fish is unveiling its new logo at theBrussels seafood show.
The company, which sells largely through wholesalers, islooking to drive more of its business direct to retailers, and the newconsumer-friendly logo should help it build its brand.
Right now 80 percent of its business is done withwholesalers and 20 percent with retailers, but if the branding effort issuccessful those percentages should shift in the coming years.
The company’s main markets are in southern Europe, but it isseeing growing trade with buyers in South Korea.
--John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 3:05 p.m. CET
Frying high
Spanish company Marfrio is installing a new frying line in its Portuguese factory (it also produces in Spain) to help expand frozen value-added demand, part of the company’s slow expansion in its home market of Spain.
Marfrio’s Jose Andres Veiga Suarez said the latest offering onto the market are croquettes, under the Marfrio brand.
Though the virtual collapse of market leader Pescanova would seem to have left an opening for smaller branded players like Marfrio, that hasn’t necessarily been the case.
“They’re still there,” Suarez said. “And it’s good for everyone for them to do well. Competition is a good thing.”
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 3:03 p.m. CET
Italian processor scoops new retail deals with ready-to-eat range
Tuscany-based processor Arbi Dario just launched a range of new ready-to-eat products, and already landed placements at several Italian and other European retailers.
The €50 million turnover company introduced a ‘Mare Caldo Seafood Starter,’ which includes calamari, mussels, and shrimp with olive oil, lemon and parsley. In addition, it introduced a Mediterranean style cod dish and salmon dish.
While the companies has clients all over Europe, in Japan and the United States, the new line is so far only available in Italy at retailers Coop, Conad and other major supermarkets, Alessandro Arbi, R&D manager at the firm, told IntraFish.
It will also be available at Edeka in Germany, Rewe in Austria and Coop in Switzerland.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 3.00 p.m. CET
Pangasius certification confusion
A few weeks ago, the Vietnam pangasius industry got buyers’ attention when it announced that by 2016, all pangasius farmers and enterprises in Vietnam are required to adopt the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) certificiation.
For many, VietGap was an unknown entity, and questions arose as to why the certifications of pangasius farms wouldn’t be done by established groups such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or The Global Aquaculture Association (GAA).
A draft of the VietGap plan is now circulating through various government ministries in Vietnam for comment, said Nguyen Huu Dzung, vice chairman of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The VietGap certification has largely been used to certify commodities such as rice and vegetables for sale to the domestic Vietnamese market, Dzung said. But VietGap isn’t set up for certification of exported products such as pangasius, he said.
So it remains to be seen what exactly the government will do regarding VietGap and its planned mandatory certification of pangasius farming operations, but Dzung thinks a compromise that allows VietGap and other alternative certifications such as ASC and GAA might emerge.
John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 2.46 p.m. CET
HB Grandi invests in new portioner
The bubbly was flowing at Marel’s booth this afternoon after it finalized a purchase agreement for a new portioner with Icelandic fishing and processing firm HB Grandi.
Surrounded by photographers, HB Grandi CEO Vilhjalmur Vilhjalmsson signed the contract for the RevoPortioner.
The new machine will give HB Grandi the possibility to process fish from single-frozen, and fresh raw material, Byrnjolfur Eyjolfsson, marketing manager at the firm, told IntraFish.
“We’ve been testing it out and it’s promising,” he said. Quality is “much higher,” he said. “For HB Grandi it’s about increasing value.”
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 2.45 p.m. CET
Buy local, eat local
Believe it or not, even Norwegians need to be reminded where their fish comes from. So the newest line being launched by Aker Group subsidiary Norway Seafoods will be under its own brand.
“We want to tell consumers it’s Norwegian fish, produced in Norway,” Norway Seafoods CEO Thomas Farstad said.
Though mega-brand Findus still dominates the shelves, “step by step” Norway Seafoods hopes to make some in-roads in the country, though Farstad said it doesn’t intend to back away from its private label business.
In Denmark, Norway Seafoods has had good acceptance for its fresh cod loins under its Thorfisk brand, which are skinless, boneless, packed and ready for its consumers. In a time of continued high cod quotas, pushing new products is exactly what Norway Seafoods and other companies need to do.
“The whitefish sector has to ramp up innovation and make products that cater to the needs of consumers in 2014,” he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 2.40 p.m. CET
Confusion reigns in sockeye market
E&E Foods’ Tab Goto said the sockeye market is in a state of flux again this year.
“Prices are going to come down for sockeye, but not what the Europeans are hoping for,” Goto said. Likewise, “Japan will buy this year, but the big problem is they are trying to buy cheap, and I doubt Alaskans can sell that cheap.”
It’s not the only worry. While the slightly higher Alaskan sockeye run won't necessarily make a big market splash, a (potentially) massive sockeye salmon run in Canada could change the market dramatically.
“I’m of the mind that Canada is coming on strong,” Goto said. “A lot of Alaskans are saying, ‘Show me,’ but it can have a major impact.”
And frankly speaking, Goto said, the quality of Canadian sockeye is superior and the cost structure is such that it’s cheaper.
“When it’s cheaper and better, guess who’s going to win the sale?”
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 2.30 p.m. CET
The pretty girl finally arrives at the dance
Sure, salmon prices are good, but they are yet to make up for the many bad years Chilean salmon producers have suffered.
“It’s like we have been dancing with the ugly girl for years, and only for one year have we been dancing with the pretty girl,” said Jose Eugenio Heiremans, market manager at Chilean salmon producer Los Fiordos.
Sitting at a strikingly branded ‘SuperSalmon’ booth, Heiremans said the company was pretty happy with its current situation, which aside from better prices and management in the industry, also includes more balanced markets: Two years ago, the United States accounted for around 40 percent of Los Fiordos’s market, but now it takes no more than 25 percent with Europe, Brazil and other markets maintaining a better status quo, Heiremans told IntraFish.
Despite digging for a story, it turns out Los Fiordos has no development plans at the moment, and is looking purely to maintain current volumes -- 55,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon and 10,000 tons of coho -- into next year.
“You saw what happened when everyone wanted to grow,” said Heiremans. “We saw a price collapse.”
And the only challenge Heiremans sees going into next year for the Chilean salmon industry is rising costs, with regulation and lower stocking densities taking their toll.
But everything must be about sustainability right now, he told us.
Los Fiordos is owned by Chile’s biggest protein producer, AgroSuperFoods, who owns several big pork and chicken brands amongst others, but as yet there are no plans to consumer brand its salmon.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 2.16 p.m. CET
The smell of money
Everyone who has been to the Brussels show will know and instantly recognize the lingering smell of fish and seafood in the air.
While you don’t necessarily have to drag all your suits and dresses to the dry cleaners afterwards – as is the case when visiting processors and other clients -- they still need some good airing, no question.
But one exhibitor, who for obvious reasons didn’t want to be named, said “it’s not the smell of fish, it’s the smell of money.”
So take a good breath and carry on.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 1. 58 p.m. CET
Grimsby scoops World Seafood Congress
Preparations for the World Seafood Congress 2015 are well underway, Nikki Hawkins, events manager at UK industry body Seafish, said.
Grimsby is hosting the congress from Sept. 5 to 10, 2015, under the theme of ‘Up-skilling for a sustainable future’ at the Grimsby Institute.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 1.48 p.m. CET
Russian and Ukraine situation to hit pelagics
Despite a good 12 months in the pelagic industry, sales are beginning to slow down as the situation in Russia and Ukraine starts to take its toll, according to Simon Leiper, managing director of Shetland Catch.
“This is the major concern for the pelagic industry going forward,” said Leiper.
“With the currency devaluation and increase in mackerel quota, this is going to be a tough year for the industry. The underlying demand is still there in the countries though,” he said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 13.32 p.m. CET
Angulas Aguinaga eyes growth in the Americas
Spanish surimi company Angulas Aguinaga has “really big objectives” for the North and South American markets next year, the company’s Laura Berridi told IntraFish.
“We plan to significantly increase our exports next year into new markets in North and South America, and the export team is increasing day by day,” she said.
The company, whose product range includes the brands La Gula del Norte, Krissia, and Angulas Aguinaga, is also looking at developing specific products for these new markets.
Angulas is already in Mexico but has plans to grow in Puerto Rico, Chile and Colombia, among other Latin American countries. The United States is now also on the agenda as a new export market for the company in 2014.
“We will be developing new products for these new markets,” said Berridi. “Increasing exports to these countries will be an exam, a test,” she said.
Jacobo Mugica, who has been export manager at the company for the past few years, will now also head up the ‘Americas project’.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 13.21 p.m. CET
ASDA supplier targets £50 million turnover in 2014
Scotland-based salmon processor ESCO, a subsidiary of Mer Alliance, has grown its turnover from £7 million eight years ago to more than £50 million being forecast for 2014, Damian Breckenridge, sales manager told IntraFish.
The main source of the company’s income is from its existing business with UK supermarket chain ASDA, according to Breckenridge, which accounts for 85 percent of sales. The remaining 15 percent is through food manufacturers.
The processor supplies ASDA with smoked, cooked and raw salmon products, for its entire range from ‘Extra Special’ to ‘ASDA Smart Price’.
“But we have grown as much as we can with ASDA and are now looking to branch out,” Breckenridge said.
This includes potentially getting its products into smaller retail chains, as well as starting exports.
“We don’t export anything at the moment but with the Scottish tag we could start exporting to the east coast of America, or the United Arab Emirates,” he said.
Additionally the company is also getting “heavily into trout” at the moment. Sales of trout in ASDA have increased in the last three years to around £4 million, Breckenridge said.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tirsdag 6. mai:
-- Anders Furuset
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Regin Jacobsen, konsernsjef i Bakkafrost, har allerede hatt et vellykket arrangement.
Over 90 potensielle leverandører møtte opp.
- De fikk en frist til 13. juni til å komme med anbud.
Jacobsen sier at Brüssel er svært viktig for Bakkafrost.
- Det er obligatorisk å være her. Vi har vært med hvert eneste år siden messen startet. Her møter vi kunder fra hele verden, og får gjort viktig kundepleie. I tillegg ser vi naturligvis etter nye kunder.
-- Anders Furuset
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- Men det vi kan si er at det er god etterspørsel etter laks, noe vi ser av prisene. Når de nå faller litt gjør det ikke at etterspørselen blir mindre.
-- Anders Furuset
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- Det er første gang jeg er på denne messen, og den er utrolig flott. Det er helt tydelig at det er en viktig møteplass, sier Landsnes til IntraFish.
Børsdirektøren sier at Oslo Børs er der for å pleie kontakten med børsnoterte selskaper, og markedsføre seg for potensielle børskandidater.
- Mange av de mellomstore norske oppdrettsselskapene ville vært store på Oslo Børs, sier Martens.
Landsnes sier at det er flere selskaper ”i pipe linene” mot børsnotering, men vil ikke være konkret på hvilke selskaper det er.
-- Anders Furuset
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.52 p.m. CET
EMS offers export opportunities for Brazil
Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) has opened up some doors for the Brazilian shrimp industry, with exports picking up a little to Vietnam and France, Eduardo Rodrigues, consultant at Brazilian shrimp producers’ association ABCC told IntraFish at the stand.
But with anti-dumping duties sullying its previously big market, the US, the domestic market has taken precedence.
“There’s just no cost benefit,” he said.
However, the Sunset Review set for 2016 may see the situation change for Brazilian fortunes. Time will tell.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.50 p.m. CET
Costco and crab cakes
US-based Handy International, a regular at the Brussels seafood show, is featuring a new pasteurized crab product for foodservice. The product contains several grades of crab meat – claw, special, lump and jumbo lump – all in one can, eliminating the need for chefs to order several different grades of crab.
Europe is an important market for Handy, where it has a long-established partnership with Champion Seafoods of the United Kingdom, which distributes its products.
The company also has a contract with Costco stores in the United Kingdom for sales of its crab cakes.
-- John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.45 p.m. CET
Time to walk the walk in Oz
It’s time for Australia to stop talking up its great leadership and to get to the business of producing, Roy Palmer, Global Aquaculture Alliance's oceania market development manager told IntraFish when we bumped into him earlier.
Regulation is a big hurdle for the industry, with layers of local government restrictions. But the new national government that came into power last year has plans to begin sifting through the regulatory spiderweb, giving a spark of light at the end of the tunnel.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.38 p.m. CET
GAA to pilot with GSSI
GAA will be the first standards body to pilot with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) GAA’s Peter Redmayne announced this morning at the show.
“The market is looking for a level playing field and we are looking forward to being part of that,” said Redmayne.
Quite what the pilot will involve is not quite clear yet, and GSSI’s tiered approach “is a bit of a curveball,” Redmayne told IntraFish, but with a lot or retail partners already involved he is comfortable it will be a good fit.
And as for competition? Not a problem.
While clearly glad to be the first to accept the pilot scheme, Redmayne said he would “like nothing more” than for every seafood certification scheme out there to sign up.
The GSSI, formed in February 2013, aims to provide a consistent global benchmarking tool to provide transparency between labelling and seafood certification programmes. The GSSI benchmarking framework consists of different criteria and indicators based on FAO guidelines.
-- Rachel Mutter
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.30 p.m. CET
CPF: EMS situation ‘stable’ at best
Bob Miller, managing director at CP Foods UK, has some sobering views about current reports the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) is soon to be a thing of the past.
“The EMS situation is stable but there’s no immediate breakthrough in terms of volumes. We have to be very careful, especially in Thailand,” he told IntraFish during a pit stop at the company’s booth.
Earlier this year, the company had to shut a Thai shrimp plant, dismissing 1,200 workers – a result of the ongoing crisis. Volumes halved for CPF from about 5,500 metric tons harvested shrimp per month to 3,000 metric tons currently.
There has been no big change and no immediate solution, Miller said. “It’s a case of finding what is wrong and putting it right. It’s very basic,” he said.
The company is nevertheless going ahead with the planned expansion in Vietnam. “One plant is being commissioned as we speak,” Miller said. He talked about “bad timing” but said the closure of the plant in Thailand had nothing to do with the opening of a second one in Vietnam.
“It was part of some five-year plan we had; it was meant to fulfill our expansion expectations.” Then came EMS.
In terms of demand, he believes that Europe will be “limiting. I’m not convinced the US will be fruitful either,” he said. China is the market to go to, he believes. “China can pay for the food they require,” he told IntraFish.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6 12.14 p.m. CET
The ‘people’s business’
Seafood is a still a people’s business, and Yoke Vandepitte, manager at Belgian firm Pittman Seafoods is visibly enjoying the Brussels crowd.
“We have been here since day one,” she told IntraFish. This year the focus is to introduce the company’s new cutting line and upcoming €2 million ($2.8 million) expansion, which will be concluded by the end of the year.
In the long run, the company is putting its focus on expanding organically, grow its markets and clients in its three business areas retail, industry and foodservice.
“We want to grow in a healthy way and still be a mid-sized company. We don’t want to become the next Iglo,” she said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.12 p.m. CET
ASMI to take full ownership of RFM standard
The board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has decided to officially declare itself owner of the Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification standard.
The board will also set up a RFM conformance criteria committee and formulate a task force to look at recruiting “potential RFM fisheries clients,” ASMI’s Jon Harman confirms to IntraFish.
There will now be multiple certification bodies operating under the standard, he said.
“Now ASMI has become the declared owner of the RFM, separate fisheries will be necessary,” he said.
A working plan is now underway with the changes due to be implemented in October 2014.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.09 p.m. CET
Alaska party in Pimlico
As part of ASMI’s promotion of Alaskan seafood in the UK and Europe, the institute has organized a ‘pop-up’ restaurant to take place in London next month.
The day-long “Alaskan experience” will take place in Pimlico gardens on June 21, and is designed to raise awareness of Alaskan fisheries.
During the day there will be a family experience with a “gold rush” theme. “It will be a festival theme with tastings and demonstrations of Alaskan seafood,” ASMI’s Rebecca Wilson told IntraFish.
Then in the evening there will be an Alaskan seafood banquet, a sit down meal for 80 guests. The pop up restaurant will be supported by ASMI’s ongoing campaign in all the major supermarkets in the UK.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 12.06 p.m. CET
Congalsa looks to double exports
Spanish seafood company Congalsa wants to double its exports within this year, Adrian Salgado, the company’s marketing manager told IntraFish.
The company is already present in 25 countries worldwide, Salgado said, however exports only account for 5 percent of its business.
“This year we want to reach more volumes, a larger market,” he said.
“At the moment we export around 1,000 tons, but we want to double this in 2014, and then grow and grow and grow.”
The company’s main export markets are France and Portugal, as well as the UK and Germany.
Congalsa also want to increase its MSC product range. So far only around half of the company’s products are MSC certified but it plans to increase this number over the next year with the aim of eventually reaching 100 percent MSC.
-- Dominic Welling
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Tuesday, May 6, 11.52 a.m. CET
No mussels, but new brand
Testa & Cunhas, the Portuguese operator of Europe’s largest offshore farm, had to come to Brussels without its products. The reason? A temporary closure of the harvesting area in Portugal due to toxins in the water.
Antonio Miguel Cunha, manager at Testa & Cunhas nevertheless has reason to rejoice. Mussels are growing "faster-than-expected" and the company just launched a new brand: Algarve SeaShells.
“We want to differentiate our mussels from Spanish producers,” he told IntraFish. And the plans to grow are ambitious.
While it currently operates only one block in the designated zone of 400 hectares off the Portuguese coast, it has the capacity to install nine more. This will happen in the coming years, as the firm plans to expand by two blocks every year until it reaches it full capacity of 8,000 to 10,000 metric tons.
On the menu are not only mussels but also oysters, clam seedlings and scallops. “We’re growing with our clients,” Cunha said.
-- Elisabeth Fischer
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Tuesday, May 6, 11:40 a.m. CET
Careful expansion
Geert Sonneville, CEO of Belgium-based frozen seafood processor and distributor Setraco, is looking to carefully expand into new markets, despite a challenging shrimp market – the company’s main raw material.
Setraco has been producing high-end ready meals out of its Normandy factory, and as the success of that, the company purchased a new factory in Belgium with a EUR3 million – EUR 4 million investment. The factory is slated to open by May next year, and the product from the plant will be targeted at Western and Eastern Europe, though “little by little” he’s seeing Southern Europe grow as a market.
As for the aforementioned raw material challenges, Sonneville, who is primarily sourcing from Thailand and Vietnam, is now looking at South America as a potential supplier to diversify his source.
“I hear a lot of things, so I really don’t know where the market is going to go,” Sonneville said. “They say prices are coming down, but that the inventory is not enough. Anybody can say anything on the internet nowadays, so European buyers are waiting.”
One other major change over the past year for family-owned Setraco is the establishment of a board, which is helping pave the way for long-term stability for the EUR73 million firm.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 11:30 a.m. CET
Fresh from Florida
Ariel Seafoods of Destin, Florida, is exhibiting for the first time in Brussels, hoping to attract buyers to its grouper, snapper and king mackerel.
Although this is the company’s first time with a booth, David Krebbs Jr., who was manning the booth, has been at the show in the past; he thinks the time is right now for his products in the European market.
With quotas now in place for the fish it sells, Ariel now has more consistency in its supply, making it more possible than ever before to build business based on a steady flow of product.
The company uses the Fish Trax to trace product from the fisherman to the plate and showcase the product’s sustainability credentials.
Already the company exports 40 percent of what it sells to Canada, the remainder stays in the United States. But if Krebbs is successful, a share of product could soon be headed to European buyers.
-- John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, May 6, 11:15 a.m. CET
Big boost from a new line
Spain-based Krustagroup – a part of the Grupo Amasua empire – says it envisions its sales growing from the EUR102 million it hit last year to some EUR115 million by the end of the year on the strength of a new line it says came make major inroads in its key Spanish and Italian markets.
Krustagroup General Manager Pablo Mugica Narvaiza said the new “Combinarlos” line hits a sweet spot for consumers. Instead of full ready meals, the line is vac-packed and pasteurized, and includes a package of sauce that can be used as an addition to salads, pasta and other items.
“It’s a segment we think is very interesting,” Narvaiza said.
The aim is a younger demographic: couples with no kids, singles and families with little time to prepare food.
The line will be sold both frozen and fresh, and Krustagroup expects it to be on shelves in Spanish retail in a couple of months, with about a 70 distribution, while it hopes the additional 30 percent can make it to its Italian customers.
After that, Narvaiza said, the company is so confident about its product that it see it making its way to France and the UK in the next two years, and after that, as far away as the United States.
The one drawback to shrimp-based product right now, of course, is the high raw material cost, but currently, the wild Argentinian shrimp is selling at around $2/kilo less than farmed shrimp of similar sizes, and he expects that to be relatively stable.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, May 6, 6:00 a.m. CET
Industry readies for three days of business in Brussels
Brussels is back again, and for three hectic days IntraFish will offer you the most comprehensive coverage around with our team from around the globe fanning out on the show floor to bring you the very latest in news, markets, new products and industry rumblings.
Our blog will be updated live from the show floor, so come by our booth -- No. 5-301 -- to say hello to our editorial team or to tip us off on any news we need to be chasing.
In addition, make sure to follow us on Twitter (@intrafish and @sellmoreseafood) to catch other snippets and observations.
See you at the show!
-- Drew Cherry
