As Alaskan seafood exports to Brazil increase, Walmart Brazil is now carrying a line of frozen Alaska seafood products.
Distributor Noronha Pescados recently began selling its line of Alaskan salmon, Pollock and cod fillets and steaks to all of Walmart’s 500 stores in Brazil, along with Sam’s Club, aPão de Açúcar (Casino), Cencosud and Zaffari.
“The consumer in Brazil is tired of the product from China, and the new middle class is looking for products with more quality,” Guilherme Blanke, CEO of Noronha told SeafoodSource.
“Brazil has tremendous appeal as a destination for seafood exports. It has a growing population, a growing middle class, and a population with increasing disposable income. Most importantly, seafood consumption in Brazil is on the rise … it has increased more than 50 percent between 2003 and 2010,” Alexa Tonkovich, Asia and Emerging Markets Manager for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), told SeafoodSource.
In fact, Alaska’s seafood exports to Brazil soared 1,639 percent from 2011 to 534 metric tons and USD 1.2 billion (EUR 934 million) in 2012. “This does not account for recent efforts of several major distributors in Brazil (including Noronha) and several Alaska seafood exporters, so we expect next year’s numbers to be much higher,” Tonkovich said.
Brazil imports the most seafood of any country in South America and its imports are increasing, making it a more than attractive market for U.S. seafood suppliers, according to Tonkovich. “ASMI’s goal is to increase direct exports of Alaska seafood to the Brazil market. We believe there is a real demand in Brazil for our high quality, wild, sustainable seafood products and that there will be keen interest in the Alaska story. This is a time of strong growth in Brazil, and it’s a good time to invest in this market,” Tonkovich said.
To build the Alaska brand in Brazil, ASMI has worked with major Portuguese seafood processors to identify their product as Alaskan, according to Tonkovich. Brazil has long been a market for Alaska seafood, especially Pacific cod, which is shipped through third party processing countries such as China and Norway, according to Tonkovich.
In the future, Noronha will import cod from Alaska and make the process to salt in Brazil, developing Bacalao. “It’s an innovative product, as now this only comes from Norway,” Blanke said.
Noronha also aims to expand its Alaskan line to Chile and Argentina, Blanke said.
