Consumers and chefs in Hong Kong and throughout Asia have been exploring the full gamut of what seafood exporters have to offer, from varieties of shellfish such as crab and lobster, to world-renowned finfish favorites such as salmon.
That’s a trend seafood supplier and processor Cooke Aquaculture is well aware of – the company has seen many of its product lines thrive in the Asian region.
“All of our products do well with customers in this region,” Andrew Lively of Cooke Aquaculture told SeafoodSource. “Our Atlantic salmon is extremely popular here. Our crab, our Argentinian crab, is extremely popular, too. Our Dungeness crab from Alaska, our salmon row from Alaska, shrimp from Virginia, scallops from Virginia…our whole product line is very appealing to this marketplace.”
Lively noted the experimental mentalities taking ahold of major business and seafood hubs in the region.
“They’re looking for high quality seafood products from sustainable fisheries” in Asia, he said.
Because of that, the fact that Cooke Aquaculture and the other companies under the Cooke Seafood umbrella control most areas of the supply chain gives them an edge in the market.
“Sustainability is an important thing. Quality is an important thing. Provenance is important. The fact that we are the company that catches the fish, we are the company that processes the fish, dealing directly with the producers, is very, very important to [this market],” Lively said.
While exhibiting at this year’s Seafood Expo Asia, which took place at the beginning of September, representatives from Cooke were able to meet with the Hong Kong Chefs Association and area foodservice members, and were clued in on the persuasive powers the city possesses.
“The food culture in Hong Kong really is one of the leading food cultures in Asia, and what happens here tends to spread out,” Lively explained.
That has, in part, lead to the increased popularity of salmon in Asia over the past years.
“The fact that it’s easier to get product here and has been easier to get product here over the last five or six years, has meant that you’re starting to see [salmon] on more menus. It’s certainly growing,” he said.
