Comprising a market of some 500 million consumers spending EUR 55 billion (USD 64.5 billion) on seafood, the European Union continues to be the world’s biggest market for fishery and aquaculture products. But more money is being spent on less fish, which presents a real opportunity for aquaculture to make significant market inroads, believes Chiara Bacci, policy officer in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).
Revealing the results of a recent pan-EU consumer survey, Bacci told the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) GOAL 2017 conference that the per capita household expenditure on seafood in the EU28 increased by one percent last year to EUR 107 (USD 125), but that the per capita consumption fell by two percent to 25.1 kg.
More specifically, the study found that consumers in land-locked countries eat fish less frequently than those with coastlines, and that consumers who prefer wild-caught products tend to buy seafood more frequently. Furthermore, 74 percent of those Europeans surveyed said they predominantly bought their fish at a supermarket or grocery store.
Because these stores need to have a stable supply in place, Bacci anticipates that the role of farmed products will grow in importance and volume in the next decade.
Fish farmers have “a great competitive advantage over wild-capture fisheries” when it comes to filling this space, she said.
Bacci also highlighted that the consumer preference for fished or farmed was far from conclusive with 34 percent favoring wild-caught and eight percent choosing farmed, but 31 percent saying they have no preference.
The latter are largely younger consumers, who could be persuaded to buy more aquaculture products, she said.
With the survey finding that price and quality were far stronger sales drivers than sustainability and environmental and social impacts across all member states, there was overwhelming agreement by those surveyed that they would consume more seafood if it was priced at a lower level. Additionally, more than half said they would buy more if there were greater choice available at the point of sale.
“Sustainability is important,” Bacci added, “but we must bear in mind that consumers expect their products to be sustainable and they are not willing to pay more for it. “If they could get cheaper seafood, they said they would buy more – seafood is perceived as expensive. People are also interested in new products.
She added, "There is definitely potential for farmed."
