Producing about 130,000 metric tons of oysters valued at EUR 630 million (USD 842 million) annually, the French oyster industry is big business for a country that consumes 95 percent of its production.
SeafoodSource met up with Joulven Brest, a Brittany oyster producer and three-time president of France’s shellfish organization, Comite National de La Conchyliculture (CNC), to take a closer look at this industry.
Partos: What are the key challenges facing the French shellfish industry today?
Brest: Above all, it is the mortality of oysters that has impacted the entire European coast. Production this year will fall by 40 percent compared to 2009. This decline is expected to continue over the next two years.
Ninety-five percent of farmed oysters hail from the same species, Crassostrea gigas, which occurs naturally in Japan and Southeast Asia. There are currently three scientific programs underway to study oyster juveniles, with the initial larvae sourced from Japan. In the 1970s and ‘80s we brought in larvae from Japan, and it seemed to work, but we don’t know if it will function this time. The key difference is that in the 1970s there were no more larvae. This time around there are some. While the species is the same, larvae have different characteristics, with each acclimated to their environment.
The aim is to identify the larvae with characteristics best suited to our climate. The quality of water due to man’s activities is also a constant battle for the industry.
Will the fall in production result in a price increase for oysters in 2010?
The rise may not be that significant because there is quite a bit of margin at the distributor/supermarket level. While producers were paid about EUR 2 or 2.10 a kilo for oysters four years ago, last year they received EUR 1.80. By contrast, the consumer can pay between EUR 8 and EUR 10 a kilo. Traditionally, there has always been this big a margin between producer and retailer.
Where are the key oyster markets?
A massive 95 percent of French production is actually consumed by French shoppers. The remaining 5 percent is mopped up by Belgium, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, plus about 7,000 metric tons exported to Asia. The United States and Asia can not enter the European market for sanitary reasons.
France does import about 3,300 metric tons of “plate” oysters from other European countries and about 2,200 of “creuse” oysters. Sold between EUR 6 and 30 a kilo, the rarer plate, or round and flat, oysters are three times more expensive than the more common creuse oyster.
Up until the 1980s, there were not creuse oysters in Britanny and Normandy, only the sweeter and firmer plate oysters. This has totally reversed now, and France barely produces 2,000 metric tons of plate oysters now.
Oyster production in France runs along the coast, from northern Normandy, through Britanny, the Loire, the Poitou Charentes to the southwestern Arcachon basin. We know that the potential for the at-home oyster market is enormous. Ten years ago, France produced 180,000 mertric tons of oysters, and we sold the lot. And today, foreign markets also hold growing potential.
Are there any key selling trends?
In terms of creuse oysters, nothing has changed for years. A third is sold at the retail level, a third in restaurants or at the fishmonger, and a third via direct sales, such as markets. By contrast, a hefty 75 percent of mussels are sold at the retail level. The buying pattern differs for the two different shellfish. A spontaneous purchase, shoppers tend to buy oysters on the spur of the moment. But mussels are bought to make a dish, so the purchase is planned.
In fact, vacuum-packed mussels are a growing trend. About 20 to 30 percent of mussels sold today are sold like this; the market for vacuum-packed mussels has doubled in five years. The new market isn’t really due to consumer demand, but has been encouraged by retailers. As far as they’re concerned, the fewer fresh products there are, the better, because there’s less risk, and fewer personnel.
Are there any new areas of development, or diversification, for the shellfish industry?
Yes, we are going to launch comestible seaweed. We will start a training program, plus access to laboratories, to encourage private companies to start production of edible seaweed.
Seaweed is found in numerous food formulations, including yogurts and prepared foods. France currently imports 30,000 metric tons of seaweed, so the market is definitely there and we’ve already had lots of interest. As a stand-alone, seaweed is not really viable so the idea is for producers to complement their shellfish sales with seaweed production.
