Global demand for sustainable, natural foods across the board holds real promise and opportunity for the seafood industry, particularly in New Zealand.
This according to Seafood New Zealand Chairman George Clement, who spoke on the topic of global food production rates during the New Zealand Seafood Industry Conference in Wellington on 19 August.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has forecasted that by 2030, global food production will need to rise by 40 percent; by 2050, it will need to rise by 70 percent. In this vein, Clement noted that global seafood production, which tends to rise by 3.2 percent annually, continues to outpace population growth (1.6 percent increase annually). And as far as New Zealand is concerned, seafood exports have been performing well since 2001 – currently, 85 percent of New Zealand seafood is exported.
“Nutritionally, seafood is part of the solution, not the problem,” Clement confirmed.
With more consumers in middle class and high-end markets becoming curious about where exactly their food comes from, New Zealand seafood insiders have a prime opportunity to appeal to buyers on a broad scale.
“Customers in these high end markets increasingly want to know where their food comes from, whether it’s safe to eat and natural, how it was harvested and whether it comes from a sustainable source. These discerning and affluent customers are the most politically active, influential and the most likely to research what they are buying,” said Clement.
To capitalize on these opportunities, Clement suggested that the seafood industry establish a validation scheme under a New Zealand brand that operates on the following key assurances:
- Natural – establish and extol the natural qualities
- Safe – assured food safety standards so consumers can buy and eat with confidence
- Healthy – establish and extol seafood’s health benefits
- Sustainable – establish and extol our very low environmental impact.
“It’s not just about selling our seafood, it’s about promoting it and telling our story - our commitment to quality, sustainability, the environment and the exclusivity of our products,” Clement concluded.
