Distributor Survey
Photo by James Wright
Distributors continue to rank
sourcing, rising costs and
fraud as their big problems.
Supply concerns
Biennial survey reveals reliability a major issue for distributors
BY CHRISTINE BLANK
W
hile distributors' primary concerns about
their business — sourcing, rising costs
and product fraud — haven't
changed in two years, the
challenges have intensifed,
SeaFood Business found in its
biennial distributor survey.
"Supply is always our No.
1 concern. Competition
with domestic product from
overseas controls the pricing,
and goes hand-in-hand with
demand," says Joe Lasprogata, VP of new product
34
SeaFood Business
December 2013
Industry Trends
Getting product
takes more time
What do you consider
to be the three biggest
challenges facing the
seafood-distribution
industry?
development for Samuels &
Son Seafood in Philadelphia.
Ross Swanes, VP of Northern Fish in Tacoma, Wash.,
says sourcing quality products
is not as much a challenge as
is urging retail and foodservice buyers to be fexible with
product variances.
"Tere are fsh available; it
is a matter of how stringent
the restaurant group or the
supermarket chain is. If wild
species come in at a certain
size — such as there are only
large coho salmon available
— it can put an inordinate
amount of pressure on a particular size," Swanes says.
Rising wholesale costs are
distributors' second-biggest
headache at 59.2 percent in
2013, versus 53 percent of
distributors in 2011 who put
cost at the top of their list.
Product fraud — including
country of origin, mislabeling and short weights — is a
top concern of 45.8 percent
of distributors this year, versus 38 percent in 2011.
Rather than wholesale
prices, delivering seafood
that is a value for consumers
is difcult in today's market,
some distributors say.
"We service some very
Sourcing/product availability
Rising wholesale prices
Product fraud (country of origin,
mislabeling, short weights)
Rising fuel prices (air, land, sea)
Expanding seafood sales
Sustainability certification
FDA testing
HACCP compliance
Other
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
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