The SeafoodSource editorial team is on site at the 2009 European Seafood Exposition collecting news and gossip from the show floor. Here's what I dug up on Wednesday:
9:45 a.m. - Fifteen minutes until the Brussels Exhibition Grounds opens to visitors. The weather in Belgium this morning is much more pleasant than yesterday - 16 degrees Celsius and sunny.
10:05 - The show is receiving a lot of press. Some 110 journalists visited the show on Tuesday, according to Sofie Parthoens, project manager of Advanced Fair. Among the media outlets visiting the show are the BBC, the Financial Times, Het Nieuwsblad (a Belgium-based Flemish newspaper) and RTBF (French public radio).
10:40 - The Norwegian Seafood Export Council is looking to grow Norway's share of the U.S. farmed salmon market, with the help of a NOK 10 million (USD 1.5 million, EUR 1.1 million) marketing campaign. Norway, which produced 720,000 to 730,000 metric tons of farmed salmon last year, sees an opportunity given Chile's struggles with an outbreak of infectious salmon anemia, which has curbed production there.
U.S. importers are increasingly interested in Norwegian salmon, said Borge Gronbech and Egil Sundheim, both of the council. But the U.S. tariff on Norwegian salmon, enacted about 20 years ago, remains an obstacle.
"It's a critical hurdle," said Sundheim. "It shut us out of the U.S. market. But [the Norwegian and U.S. governments] are in talks."
11:10 - Erwin Alderlieste, co-owner of Alfocan SA, was at his stand basking in the glow of his Seafood Prix d'Elite victory. On Tuesday night, the Spanish company was awarded the best new foodservice product for its Crayfish Skewers. The product is made from 100 percent natural cooked, peeled and deveined crayfish tails, and packed under modified atmosphere.
"I didn't expect it," said Alderlieste. "It was a nice surprise."
11:30 - Rupert Howes, executive director of the Marine Stewardship Council, expressed confidence on Wednesday that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will find clients to pursue MSC recertification of the Alaska salmon fishery when its certification lapses in 2012.
To watch the interview with Howes, click here.
11:45 - Brussels Mayor Freddy Thielemans dropped by the show and chatted with Mary Larkin and Nancy Hasselback of show organizer Diversified Business Communications.
11:50 - Wearing a "Recession Proof" button on his shirt, Kay Kramp, international product manager for Larsen Danish Seafood AS, explained the attributes of his company's seafood products, namely sustainability, convenience and affordability.
Among the products Larsen had on display at its stand was its Schlemmer Filet line, launched about eight months ago. The fillets are packaged in single-portion tubs that are microwaveable and recyclable. Kramp said the plastic tubs are more environmentally friendly than tin cans, which use more energy to manufacture.
The line, which includes Alaska pollock in tomato basil sauce, pangasius in red curry sauce and farmed salmon in lobster sauce, is available at Aldi stores in Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia.
12:15 - "You're digging your own grave if you don't continue to develop new products," said Flemming Knudsen, CEO of Royal Greenland.
"The global economic crisis is affecting all of us," he explained. "We're rethinking the way we do things to save costs. But we're not going to stop developing new products. That is what will sustain us as a company five to 10 years from now."
Royal Greenland entered five new products in this year's Seafood Prix d'Elite competition, and for the second consecutive year the Danish company was recognized. Its Fish ‘n R?sti received an award for convenience on Tuesday night.
12:45 - Peter Fraser, general manager-commercial business of National Prawn Co., talked about his company's plans to expand its shrimp production from 15,000 metric tons last year to more than 45,000 metric tons in 2010. The fully integrated company currently operates 10 farms (each pond contains 30 10-hectare ponds) on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. It raises Penaeus indicus, a white shrimp new to the global market.
"Our biggest challenge is getting the economies of scale right," said Fraser. "Anyone can grow prawns. But not everyone can grow them competitively."
National Prawn is also growing sea cucumber and is looking at raising barramundi, yellowtail kingfish and mahimahi.
April 29, 2009
