Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.-based Giant Eagle is no longer selling Russia-sourced crab, and has seen a big shift in its tilapia sales.
“We made the decision we are done with Russia crab as soon as they attacked Ukraine,” Seafood Category Manager Shawn Oliver told SeafoodSource.
The chain of more than 470 stores was previously buying all its king crab and around 50 percent of its snow crab from Russia. Giant Eagle has king crab in reserve and it switched to purchasing snow crab from Norway and Canada, Oliver said.
“The good thing is the quotas in Canda were increased from last year, so the prices actually came down on snow crab,” Oliver said.
But king crab prices “are through the roof – at least 50 percent higher than two years ago,” according to Oliver.
Another species that has experienced a significant price hike is tilapia from Asia, according Oliver. Wholesale prices on frozen imported tilapia have doubled over the last two years, he said.
Due to the higher prices, which Giant Eagle said were primarily due to transportation and port issues in Asia, the retailer began to carry more “premium” tilapia from Miramar, Florida, U.S.A.-based Regal Springs.
“We are in process of replacing imported Chinese tilapia with Regal Springs’ two-pound frozen bags,” Oliver said.
Featuring Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification and Better Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, Regal Springs’ tilapia is raised in deep-water pens in lakes in Honduras and Mexico and in the Indonesian”‘Ring of Fire" in Lake Toba.
Regal Springs tilapia has been moving so well at Giant Eagle that it is now the highest-percentage growth item in the seafood department, according to Oliver.
“We have been given an opportunity to promote it for several months, and will promote it throughout summer. It has been moving very well for us and will continue to move well,” he said.
Giant Eagle is also exploring a value-added tilapia line with Regal Springs.
Sales of certain “premium” seafood products, like Regal Springs tilapia, are increasing as they become more affordable, particularly compared to imported product, according to Oliver.
While inflation has hit all sectors of the grocery store, including the fresh seafood department, “certain finfish and certain shrimp are still a value and can be promoted,” Oliver said.
“We promote a cooked and raw shrimp in our ad every week,” he said. “It’s one of the few things we can still offer a value on.”
Photo courtesy of Giant Eagle
