Hanters trades in block frozen pelagics and salted sprats
Value-addition is the way to better earnings The company Hanters based in Liepaja is involved essentially in two activities. It has two ďŹ shing vessels which target sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea and it processes this ďŹ sh into frozen blocks or salted ďŹ sh.
T
he fishing fleet in Latvia has been downsizing regularly over the past couple of decades as catches have fluctuated up and down while costs have only moved in one direction. These are among the factors that have contributed to the decline in the number of fishing vessels and companies in the sector. This development has a positive side to it however. With fewer vessels to divide the catch between, those that are left are catching more fish and becoming more profitable.
the catch might be suitable for salting. Natalija Lilienfelde, the director, says that it would not be before October that fish suitable for freezing can be caught. The lower quality fish caught in summer can be used to be made into animal feed, but earnings on this product are too low to make the fishery economically viable. Of course, another reason is that the company has a limited quota and would like to use it to catch the best quality fish for which it can get the best price rather than fish of lower value.
Fish caught in summer is The frozen blocks are typically best used as animal feed sold to canneries, who thaw the In Latvia Hanters is one of the approximately 25 fishing companies left in the sector that is still active. The company’s two 25 m vessels catch sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea with trawls, an activity that has been ongoing since 1996. The fish is then either frozen into 10 kg blocks or salted in plastic tubs. The sprat and herring fishery is seasonal, starting at the beginning of September. During the summer months it is possible to catch, but due to the warmer water, the fish is of poor quality with less fat and softer flesh making it prone to damage when it is caught. This year the company was planning a trial fishery already at the end of August to see whether
fish and process it into cans. This could be companies in Latvia, but Hanters’ primary markets are in Ukraine and Moldova for this product. Since the Russian ban on imports from the EU in 2014 the company has not been able to sell to Russia or the other two countries, Kazakhstan and Belarus, that are in a customs union with Russia. This was difficult for Hanters as like for many other Latvian companies in the fisheries sector, Russia was an important market for its products. However, says Julija Rozhkova, the sales manager, every cloud has a silver lining, and when Russia shut down we increased our efforts on the Latvian market. Latvian canneries, many of which were also dependent on
Natalija Lilienfelde, Director, and Julija Rozhkova, Sales Manager of Hanters, a sprat fishing company that processes the catch in to block frozen and salted sprats.
the Russian market, have now found customers in other parts of the world including Japan, Israel, and the United States, and this has proved also to be beneficial to their suppliers.
Salted sprats are appreciated more in the former USSR The volumes of salted sprat that are produced are relatively minor in relation to the frozen product. Over the latest spring-summer season Ms Lilienfelde says that the company manufactured about 1,500 tonnes of frozen fish, but only 200 tonnes of salted sprats. This is because the company has only been manufacturing the product for the last three years.
Finding markets and building a reputation take time particularly when a similar product is being produced by several companies just across the border in Estonia. The market for salted sprats exists mainly in the countries of the former Soviet Union and its neighbours, where the taste is well known and appreciated. All producers have to therefore compete for the same group of consumers. In western European countries it is generally unknown. Producing salted sprats is also an intricate procedure that calls for a lot of experience if it is to be done well. It is like a sensitive child, says Ms Rozhkova, that needs special care and attention if it is to turn out well in the end. Ms Lilienfelde is closely involved
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