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Grab a bargain: According to IntraFish, the spot price for salmon is set rise this week to around NOK 41/kg (£4.20/ €5.10) for 3/4kg fish. Industry players they spoke to report that demand continues to increase but supplies may be interrupted due to the onset of Norwegian holidays.
It does seem rather amazing that demand for salmon has not yet been affected by the higher prices because this is what we would expect to see. Whilst overall demand does seem to be on the increase, the picture in specific markets does seem to be different. The traditional markets in France, Spain and the UK do seem to have suffered from the higher prices with a noticeable fall in imports. At the same time, newer markets such as Russia seem to have an insatiable appetite for salmon irrespective of the price. The same observation was made at the time the MIP was last in force but even then buoyant demand in these markets succumbed to the high prices.
In the UK, imports of Norwegian salmon had fallen by 18% in the early part of the year. This fall in imports occurred before retailers started to really crank up prices, which is what happened over the past four to six weeks. Past experience would suggest that higher retail prices will deter consumer purchases.
We, at Callander McDowell, do not have access to current sales figures but we measure demand based on the amount of salmon displayed on the retail shelves and counters. It does seem that there is less available. However, the greatest indication of falling demand is the need to run a major price promotion to encourage sales.
For the first time since the current round of price rises, one supermarket has slashed the price of whole salmon with a half price promotion. Whole salmon is currently available for just £4.50/kg (NOK 43.90/€5.45). Whilst this is more expensive than it used to be before the price rise, it is only slightly more than the anticipated spot price (and if you want, it can come with a free carrier bag).
Until now, most of the retailers were able to protect consumers from the current high price of salmon because of contracts and the recognition that salmon is a popular consumer choice. Whether consumers will continue buying salmon at the current price remains to be seen. This weekend’s half price promotion may suggest not.
Whilst a half price deal on whole salmon looks to be a good buy, the bargain of the week is to be found slightly further afield. One large US retailer is offer Scottish salmon fillet for the 4th July weekend at just $7.99/lb (£11.59/kg, NOK 113.3/kg). This is cheaper than the price of Scottish salmon fillet being sold by the main retail stores in Scotland. Of course there is the small matter of the £300 plus cost for the return flights to Pennsylvania.
Little green men: Twenty per cent of the delegates at the recent AquaVision conference in Stavanger thought that the best way to improve aquaculture’s image was through greater involvement with the environmental lobby. Unfortunately, the environmental lobby has many faces although it could be said that most see aquaculture as one of our planets greatest evils. This is because the aquaculture industry is highly visible through the widespread availability of aquaculture produce in the supermarkets. By comparison, the world’s largest garbage patch is hardly ever mentioned. This is a vast expanse of plastic and other debris estimated at over 100 million tonnes that stretches over the Pacific Ocean covering an area over twice the size of the USA but is contained by a series of circulating currents. As this immense garbage patch is not visible to the typical member of the public it remains off the environmental radar. After all, why focus on an issue that is so out of public sight when a much easier target is right on your doorstep?
This is the approach taken by Norwegian environmental campaigner Kurt Oddekalv who has recently attempted to undermine the Norwegian salmon industry by scaring consumers with claims that Norwegian salmon is poisonous and carcinogenic. Mr Oddekalv removed packs from shelves in a number of supermarkets and piled them up in a shopping trolley and labelled them as ‘Goods for Destruction’. As a result Mr Odekalv and his campaign have received much publicity.
The Norwegian Authorities routinely test farmed salmon and their findings have not supported Mr Oddekalv’s claims, yet Mr Oddekalv remains committed to his campaign.
Mr Oddekalv’s group are called the Green Warriors of Norway, a name that indicates that Mr Oddekalv is looking for a fight. This is what the Norwegian salmon industry should give him.
The Norwegian salmon industry has been keen to reassure consumers that Norwegian salmon is safe to eat but no matter how hard they work to push this message, there will always be an element of doubt in consumers’ minds.
Mr Oddekalv is clear proof that working with the environmental lobby does not work. Mr Oddekalv wants farmed salmon in close containment systems or not at all. Should the industry respond to his demands? The answer is of course not. Yet if his current campaign fails to change the industry, he will find another way and another.
There is only one response to Mr Oddekalv and that is put a stop to his actions. The time has come to make Mr Oddekalv prove his claims. He must be legally challenged to substantiate his allegations. If Norwegian salmon is toxic and carcinogenic then let Mr Oddekalv demonstrate that they are so.
It is not just Mr Oddekalv that is allowed to make such outrageous claims. The environmental lobby makes many unsubstantiated claims, often based on what some other environmental group has said. If the environmental lobby is so concerned about the environment what are they doing about the 100 million tonnes of plastic waste clogging up our oceans?
Well done Nico: Fishnewseu.com announced that the winner of this year’ s Scottish Seafood Chef competition has been won by twenty year old Nico Simeone from Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel. Nico received a specially commissioned trophy and a bottle of champagne. He will also visit the Bocuse D’or competition in Lyon and get to cook for the First Minister at a seafood celebration dinner.
The competition is part of a package of measures designed to encourage greater consumption of Scottish seafood. Seafood Scotland says this is an effective way to do this but we, at Callander McDowell are not so sure. They add that they are looking forward to working with Nico throughout the year to promote sustainable Scottish seafood.
Twelve months ago, the same was said of last year’s winner Craig McKenzie but little has been heard from him since. Surprisingly, he wasn’t mentioned on Seafood Scotland’s press release about the recent Edinburgh Taste Festival. Instead, the cooking was done by chef Eadie Manson from the Adam Smith College in Fife. Nor it seems did he attend the BBC Good Food Show in Glasgow last year.
Instead, Mr McKenzie seems to have slipped back into obscurity at the Milton Hotel in Banchory where he worked before participating in the competition. His winning dish of smoked Scottish hake, soft polenta with bacon, razor clams and a poached duck egg seems a far cry from the Beer battered fish ‘n chips that appears on the Milton Hotel’s Sunday lunch menu.
The current winner works at the Balmoral Hotel where a set dinner cost £59 excluding drinks. Clearly at that price, Mr Simeone’s talents won’t be available to the Scottish public.
Yet again, the emphasis on increasing consumption of seafood appears to be targeted to those at the top end of the market who probably already eat plenty of seafood. Those who would really benefit from learning about fish and seafood and how to cook it are being ignored once more.