A shortage of caviar from China is coming in the latter half of 2021, according to Edward Gant, the managing director of London, U.K.-based Hadid Caviar.
“Chinese caviar is getting more and more expensive and widely approved worldwide in terms of quality,” Gant told SeafoodSource. “From what we see, there will be a shortage in supply from China by the end of 2021.”
Gant predicted a continued surge of seafood sales lifting interest in caviar. Hadid Caviar is aiming to increase its 2020 sales tenfold in 2021, he said.
“We only launched officially in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and we managed in 2020 to sell more caviar that we initially expected, considering that most parts of the world were under strict lockdowns restrictions,” he said.
As part of a larger sales push, Hadid Caviar has partnered with luxury retailer Harrods on the rollout of a new range of products, with an emphasis on Chinese beluga caviar. And the company is widening its sales channels through e-commerce and through new distribution arrangements, Gant said.
“Ten percent of our sales are [Chinese] beluga, as it’s only available in the United Arab Emirates, U.K., and E.U. markets. We expect that percentage to increase though, especially now that our Black Diamond Edition is also available in Harrods,” Gant said. “We are offering our caviar to prestigious retailers, restaurants, hotel groups, and we also have an online store where people can order in the U.K., U.S., U.A.E., and Europe. In places outside of these areas, we only supply local distributors on a wholesale basis.”
Tighter global supply and growing demand for caviar may open the door to supply of Iranian caviar, widely available on the grey market in Gulf states. Negotiations are ongoing to revive a 2015 international accord that would restrict Iran’s nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions, but Hadid Caviar does not yet deal in Iranian product, Gant said.
“We don’t have any contacts or market intelligence as to the wholesale prices of Iranian caviar or the quantities that are being imported in U.K. and E.U., as we don’t deal with Iranian caviar,” Gant said. “Our company doesn't deal at all with Iranian caviar in any region.”
Hadid Caviar recently announced it would give five percent of profits from its caviar sales to amfAR foundation for AIDS research.
Photo courtesy of Hadid Caviar
