reLAKSation 142.
See
no evil, hear no evil, say no evil:
A report in IntraFish suggested that should the European Commission show
any leniency when fixing quotas for imported salmon, then the Scottish industry
will respond by submitting another dumping complaint. .However, to be fair to
the Scottish industry, the complaint will be lodged by a small minority of
Scottish farmers under the auspices of the quasi European Salmon Producers
Organisation.
We,
at Callander McDowell have suggested that this so called European
Salmon Producers Organisation is not really a truely representative
organisation, but simply a way of giving an unrepresentative minority credible
access to the government. Until now, its membership have appeared reluctant to
reveal themselves and the organisation did not even seem to have an address.
However, IntraFish have now identified the people behind this organisation.
These are Angus Morgan, lately of Ardvar Salmon, Angus Macmillan of West
Minch Salmon in the Western Isles and Angus Grains of Hoove Salmon
in Shetland. Mr Grains was also involved in the now defunct SSG Seafoods
but has replaced that interest with a stake in Foraness Salmon, which has risen
from the ashes of Bressay Salmon. With
such strong Scottish links, it seems rather odd that these three producers
should have felt the need to establish a European Salmon Producers Organisation,
rather than pursue their complaint through the more recognised and identifable
Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation. Perhaps, this is because they do not
have the support of the rest of Scottish producers. With their new European
identity, are we likely to see these three farmers market their salmon as
European salmon rather than Scottish or do these farmers want their cake and to
eat it? Certainly, the odds are on their salmon being sold as prime
Scottish fish.
IntraFish
asked these supposed representatives of the Scottish salmon industry to comment
on these latest claims but was met by a wall of silence. This is not surprising
since these complainants have never been willing to openly discuss their
complaints against Norwegian salmon imports, probably because the claims are
unfounded and they know that their arguments will not stand up to proper
scrutiny. The submission documents
for both the recent safeguard application and the 1996 dumping complaint
contained significant flaws and misinformation but these were never challenged
by the Commission who simply accepted the data as fact and sufficient reason to
initiate an investigation. However, any examination of the submission documents
would have shown that there was insufficient reason to begin a full
investigation. The Commission have been hoodwinked.
It
is clear that these three farmers are not representative of the Scottish
industry and should not try to claim to represent it. If they believe that they
have a case to make, then they should come forward and make their case so all
the Scottish industry can hear what is being said on their behalf.
One
of the reasons that this European Salmon Producers Organisation is able to gain
credibility is because Angus Morgan sits on the controlling council of Scottish
Quality Salmon. His role their has been described as the puppet-master because
he pulls all the strings. If his vision for the future for Scottish salmon is
one dependent on controls by Brussels, then perhaps it is time to cut these
strings and let those who have more a more positive take on the future assume
control?
This
was not always the case. Long ago, Mr Morgan used to be in charge of marketing
for Marine Harvest. He was responsible for the launch of their branded Lochinvar
salmon range. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful but it seems that this
experience, ten years ago, has clouded his judgment concerning market
development and he is not interested in even discussing whether more market-led
solutions are a viable alternative to bureaucratic controls.
IntraFish
suggest that these EU farmers now have a dumping case ready for submission to
Brussels if the current investigations do not produce their desired result. We,
at Callander McDowell would argue that if these producers have clear cut
evidence of dumping then they should submit their complaint now. More likely,
these farmers will need to wait until summer before submitting a case. This is
because at present salmon prices are too high to support any argument for
dumping. However, prices will fall during the summer months because
traditionally they always have. The EU farmers will no doubt use this fall as
their evidence of dumping. Hopefully, the Commission will recognise that such
falls are part of natural price movements and not a deliberate attempt to
offload excess salmon.
The
EU farmers have always maintained that dumping by the Norwegian industry has
regularly undermined the markets. However, it is not imports, but rather the
continuing complaints from Scotland which have most destabilised the
marketplace. The recurring rush to complain to Brussels continues to erode
market confidence. This will only stop when Brussels decides that it has better
things to do than listen to the whinges of these three farmers and forces them
to face up to the realities of the marketplace.
Let
the market decide: In an interview with
IntraFish, Philippe Barbe of salmon importers Ocean Direct said that the
imposition of quotas will set salmon farming back by 20 years. We, at Callander
McDowell wholeheartedly agree. Most of the problems leading to the current
discussion about quotas have been caused by a lack of consideration of the
marketplace. In the same way, these current discussions will ignore the demands
of the marketplace.
Ideally,
all salmon farmers, irrespective of whether they are Norwegian or Scottish want
to receive a high price for the salmon they produce. Unfortunately, consumers
now expect to pay a lot less for the salmon they buy. The imposition of quotas
will not change this. The market now expects salmon to be low cost and value for
money. If salmon prices rise, consumers will simply look for cheaper
alternatives and salmon sales will fall, more farms will go bankrupt and more
jobs will lost. This is the reality and Brussels cannot change it.
Mr
Barbe told IntraFish that if the Scottish industry cannot compete in the open
market, then it should concentrate on the quality luxury products. After all,
this is what they claim to produce. Unfortunately, there is only a tiny minority
of consumers who want to buy such a product, which is why this small section of
the industry want Brussels to help them out. Mr Barbe said that there is a
minority of Scottish farmers who spend all their time lobbying Brussels rather
than focus on developing their own businesses. One wonders if these farmers had
spent half as much effort looking at the market rather than Brussels, they could
now be some of the leading companies in the Scottish industry. It is no wonder
that they now have to seek help.
Since
the application for safeguards was submitted, there has been little further
evidence that the Scottish industry is in distress. The predicted spate of
bankruptcies has yet to
Materialize.
In fact the reverse appears true. According to the Shetland News, John Goodlad
of Cro Lax salmon, the last company to go into liquidation, has now bought back
the assets in a joint venture with smolt producer Landcatch. Mr Goodlad has
already bought back the assets of another one of his bankrupt farms whilst
Landcatch were one of the companies to sign up to the application for
safeguards. Clearly, there is still confidence (and money) in salmon farming.
Indian
take-away: A former seafood buyer with UK
supermarket chain Safeway told
seafood buyers and sellers in Bergen that Norway lags behind more progressive
markets, such as the UK and France, in terms of adding value. He said that
Europe is where the money’s being made with double digit value being added to
products. According to IntraFish, he suggested that most Norwegian retailers do
not allocate much space for added value products because they have been lucky to
have a customer base that has been happy to buy whole fish. In Europe, the
consumer no longer wants to deal with whole fish.
We,
at Callander McDowell would certainly endorse this view and would draw attention
to the massive divide between Norwegian and British supermarkets. The UK leads
the world in the development of added value products and as the leading
supermarkets become more internationalised, the culture of added value will
spread. Whether the Norwegian salmon industry can wait for the market to broaden
in this way is another matter.
This
difference between the Norwegian and British approach to added value can be
illustrated by the attempts of Norwegian Seafood Export Council to diversify
their markets. IntraFish have quoted an article from the New Strait Times that
reported that NSEC have embarked on a mission to create Indian dishes with
Norwegian salmon as the main ingredient. They gave chef Krishan Lal Salaria of
the Crown Princess Kuala Lumpur’s Taj Restaurant (Isn’t Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia not India?) the taks of creating 10 recipes of Indian Cuisine which
included Norwegian salmon kebab, Norwegian salmon lemon rice, Norwegian salmon
tikka and Narangi Norwegian salmon.
However, NSEC could have saved themselves a lot of time and effort if they had simply got a flight to London and gone supermarket shopping. British consumers can already buy a variety of Indian dishes made from salmon. These include ‘Green Chutney salmon with Madras Potatoes’,’ Tandoori salmon with mint riata’, ‘Seared masala salmon fillet’, Mango salmon, mussels and prawns’, ‘Salmon piri piri’, ‘salmon goujons, tikka flavour’, ‘Spicy tandoori salmon kebabs’ and finally the quintessential Indian dish ‘Salmon kedgeree’.
Yet
it is not just Indian Cuisine which has been adapted to use salmon. British
consumers can now eat salmon dishes from around the world in the comfort of
their own homes. The range is awe inspiring. These salmon dishes are a long way
from the idea that consumers want to buy salmon as whole fish or even fillets or
even by its country of origin. The salmon market is extremely diverse and open
to opportunity. The question is when will the salmon industry will begin to
realise this?