FEATURE
PART 1
Marketing farmed shrimp and seafood produced in Asia by Roger Gilbert, International Aquafeed In the first of a two-part report, International Aquafeed presents the presentation of Hervé Lucien-Brun of Aquaculture and Qualité, and who is also working with Jefo Nutrition of St Hyacinthe in Canada, on ‘Marketing of farmed seafood from Asia to global markets’ which was the keynote address at this year’s Asian-Pacific Aquaculture Conference 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 24-27, 2017. In part one he identifies the importance of the local market, exchange rates, market differences, time of year, shrimp size, retail quality, colour, location and other factors that impact sales. We will carry the second and concluding part of this report in our October issue, concentrating on other quality and safety factors.
A
quaculture production has almost doubled in quantity over the past 15 years and modern day marketing is demanding greater a awareness and understanding by producers, especially those in Asia. “If we compare farmed livestock, such as farmed chicken, pigs or beef animals the consumer does not compare those products with wild animals,” says Hervé LucienBrun of Aquaculture and Qualité in his opening presentation to the Asian-Pacific Aquaculture Conference 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 24-27, 2017. “No consumer today buys a wild chicken, however if you buy fish or shrimp today you have to make a decision as to whether it is farmed or wild. “If you want to market well you have to be prepared to meet the real demand of the market and for us that means to have a good knowledge of the fish market.” Each market has its own specification in quality control and specification, he adds.
Brazil, during the Ecuador White Spot disease in 1999, became a strong exporter. But due to international exchange rate fluctuations it has become less attractive for Brazilian farmers to export shrimp to the US, or to Europe, so in response the industry
Shrimp as an example
If we view the world production of shrimp we see by far that Asia is the main producer. “However, in the eyes of the consumer you don’t see so much Asian shrimp. You see Asian shrimp more in commodity products and this is not good. We need to understand why.” He said we should not overlook the importance of the local market. The local market is a real market and should not been seen as just a secondary market. For example, almost all production from Ecuador is exported while in Mexico almost all shrimp production is consumed by the local market and the country is even importing shrimp to meet local demand. 18 | September 2017 - International Aquafeed