ESTONIA
Hunt-Fish Group combines exports of fish and game
Perch fillets air freighted to Switzerland The Hunt-Fish group has a track record selling perch fillets to buyers in the Swiss retail sector. At the end of last year the company together with perch fishermen invested in a processing facility to produce fresh perch fillets thereby removing two links in the value chain.
T
he Estonian fishing sector comprises several different segments, high seas, Baltic sea, coastal fishing, and inland fishing. In terms of tonnage the Baltic Sea is the most important fishing area for Estonian fisherman, but there are significant commercial fisheries in coastal and inland waters too. In the coastal fishery herring, perch, smelt and flounder are among the most commercially significant species. In inland waters catches of perch, pike, roach and eel support the fishery. One of the most interesting species from a commercial point of view both in the coastal and the inland fishery is the European perch (Perca fluviatilis). This fish is highly sought after on markets in Switzerland and France.
Perch from Lake Peipsi, and the Baltic Sea In Estonia the main single source of perch is the large freshwater Lake Peipsi. Catches of perch went from 800 tonnes in 2009 to 783 tonnes in 2014. Catches in coastal waters of the Baltic Sea amount to about 900 tonnes. Perch is a lucrative fish because of the demand from Swiss supermarkets and several Estonian companies both big and small are processing the fish into fillets and exporting them fresh and frozen. One of the companies involved 36
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in this business is Hunt-Fish, which was established recently by Allan Veltmann. The company’s processing facility was commissioned in 2014 and here, in addition to perch, Mr Veltmann processes pikeperch and pike. The processing facility is very new, but Mr Veltmann has been in the fish trading business for several years, buying fish from processors, controlling the quality and size specifications, and selling them. This experience contributed to the decision to invest in a processing facility. Here the filleting is all done by hand to maximise the yield and the factory complies with the strictest quality standards. This is one of the factors that has enabled the company to export to the demanding Swiss market, another is the quality of the raw material which the company buys only from equally quality conscious suppliers, and finally, as Mr Veltmann says, is the service that the company provides. We always respond to the customer’s requirements with regard to quality and size, says Mr Veltmann, and judging by the demand it seems they are satisfied with me.
Fishers are partners in processing factory Hunt-Fish is now looking at expanding the product range so that the company can offer
Mr Veltmann, Hunt-Fish CEO, does his best to accommodate customer’s requests and specifications.
a wider variety of items in different kinds of packaging, different sizes and under different brands. With a brand new factory I think there are a number of possibilities, says Allan Veltmann, and I also see that there is a lot of volatility in the business, markets are changing, products are evolving, people are moving and therefore one needs to be driving these changes rather than just responding to them. Mr Veltmann’s business model is unusual in the sense that the fishermen are partners in the processing plant and supply some of the fish that is processed there. Raw material also has to be obtained from other suppliers to keep up with demand.
Production amounts to a tonne of fillets a day, if the weather conditions are favourable. Being a wild product, the supply of fresh fillets is dependent on the ability of the fishermen to go out and fish, and if the weather is inclement this may not be possible. Having the fishermen as partners gives me greater credibility in negotiations with potential customers, says Mr Veltmann, as the fishers have a vested interest in keeping the factory supplied with the highest quality raw material.
New packaging, product formats being developed The fillets from Hunt-Fish are usually sent by road to Switzerland, www.eurofishmagazine.com
27/03/15 7:57 PM