The organization of the French seafood supply chain must evolve to bring better value to seafood products, according to French Fisheries Minister Bruno Le Maire.
Speaking at the launch of a multi-stakeholder dialogue for the seafood industry, Le Maire underlined the need for the chain to unite.
The industry needs “a greater cohesion between the different professional families — producers, processors, distributors,” said Le Maire, calling for the creation of an inter-professional seafood body by year’s end.
In March, Le Maire witnessed the precursor of this inter-professional group when he presided over the signature of 13 different French seafood stakeholders who together inked a charter for a new organization called France Filière Pêche.
A key motivation for this recently unveiled supply chain association, which spans from fishermen to supermarkets, is to develop tools such as an eco-label to stress the provenance of France’s seafood products.
According to France Filière Pêche, a third party will verify that the seafood is French — caught by a French vessel and landed at a French port. Makers of frozen and value-added seafood products will also have the opportunity to tap into the new brand, on condition that at least 30 percent of the ingredients adhere to the group’s qualitative criteria.
The group, financed through voluntary contributions, outlined at Salon d’Agriculture in Paris in March that it aims to build a new, collective brand to promote “quality” French seafood and to reassure consumers concerned about the seafood supply chain.
The French seafood industry, like the rest of Europe, is increasingly fighting for market share with imports. At EUR 55 billion, Europe is the world’s biggest seafood market. But 60 percent of the region’s seafood supply is imported.
In the context of the nationwide consultation on the seafood industry, the “Assises de la filière pêche et des produits de la mer,” Bruno Le Maire will meet with seafood stakeholders on Monday at the northern French fishing village of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
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