Trident Seafoods, High Liner Foods, and Channel Fish are the beneficiaries of a nearly USD 28.1 million (EUR 25 million) purchase of Alaska pollock products by the United States government.
The Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) confirmed to SeafoodSource in January that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service was making the large purchase, but the agency did not name the suppliers at the time.
The pollock will be used for child nutrition and other related domestic food assistance programs for fiscal year 2019, the USDA said in a notice. The agency agreed to purchase around USD 18.2 million (EUR 16 million) of frozen pollock fillets and around USD 9.8 million (EUR 8.6 million) worth of pollock fish sticks.
“We should be really proud that people who are in need are going to get a really nutritious product, and it is great for our industry, which has had challenging times,” GAPP CEO Craig Morris told SeafoodSource in January.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Trident Seafoods will supply the majority of the pollock at nearly USD 21 million (EUR 18.5 million), while Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, Canada-based High Liner Foods will supply around USD 3.8 million (EUR 3.3 million) worth, and Channel Fish Processing Co. in Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.A. will supply around USD 3.3 million (EUR 2.9 million) worth of Alaska pollock.
Last fall, Alaska legislators pushed for the purchase of Alaska pollock to help offset losses from the U.S.-China trade war.
”Alaska pollock is a significant and lucrative market for Alaska and the U.S., accounting for one-third of our country’s seafood output. Unfortunately, in light of the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on Alaska pollock products, many of those involved in the industry have suffered,” U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a November statement.
