SeaFood Business

DEC 2012

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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Top Story Experts say the high cost of seafood discourages consumers on tight budgets. today and you'll see chicken at $1.99 a pound. Tat's tough to beat when you look at fro- zen swai that, at a minimum, is $2.99," says Joseph Sabbagh of Sax Maritime Associates, a Los Angeles retail seafood consulting firm. Te seafood industry has few weapons to compete against lower alter- native protein prices, Sabbagh adds, "especially when you have financially stressed con- sumers trying to feed families in a struggling economy." Steady increases in the number of vegetarians could be having an impact on sea- food sales, adds Sabbagh, and while seemingly small, recent data shows growth in their ranks. According to the Veg- etarian Resource Group, 3.4 percent of American adults consider themselves vegetari- an, up from 1 percent in 1997. "Tere's a huge move to- Sales inertia Restaurants, retailers struggle to sell more fish amid rising prices, Americans' timid approach to the protein BY STEVE COOMES W hen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its 2011 seafood consumption numbers in September, the information was largely sunny. As a whole, U.S. seafood consumption surpassed Japan's, making this market second only to China's, and exports were up as well, particularly of shellfish. But of concern was NO- AA's finding that per-capita seafood consumption came in at 15 pounds, a decline of 0.8 pounds from 2010. Te drop marks the third consec- utive year of decline and the lowest number since 2002, when consumption averaged 15.6 pounds per person. Te agency attributed the slide more to "significant export growth and population in- crease rather than American 20 SeaFood Business December 2012 families eating less seafood," but not everyone agrees with that conclusion. Some believe retail price points for seafood are cost prohibitive to many consum- ers, who choose cheaper pro- teins. Others say Americans' growing lack of cooking skills overall makes seafood preparation seem intimidat- ing, if not mysterious. And yet others still, especially within the seafood industry itself, say current marketing efforts are too limited to win seafood a top-of-mind share at groceries or restaurants. "Look in supermarkets ward people eating just veg- etables, which is not a good thing for the seafood indus- try or other protein provid- ers," he says. "Even when you have an aging population that wants to eat fish, like we do, a move by others toward [vegetarianism] is not benefi- cial for sales. It's just a chal- lenge we face." Gavin Gibbons, spokes- man for the National Fish- eries Institute Va., agrees that seafood faces stiffer-than-ever in McLean, retail com- petition, yet he believes NO- AA's per-capita consumption findings point more to popu- lation growth than declines in seafood consumption. "I think their number is correct, that NOAA's data is good, but there are more things at play than people just not eating as much sea- food," Gibbons per-capita number doesn't says. "Tat consumption account Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com Photo by Karl Petzke

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