Brown crab markets in France and Spain

In 2004 Seafish commissioned research exploring expor t markets for value added products based on brown crab.

This is a summary of the report.

"The market is moving drastically from traditional live crab to fresh cooked and packed cooked meat which is ready-to-eat, " says the Seafish report, which has recently been published.

Demand for whole live crab is declining, in favour of pre-processed products.

The study aims to identify the key European markets and monitor trends. The report:

provides an overview of the market and business environment for brown crab in the key markets of France, Spain and Portugal, including value added products (VAPs);

outlines VAPs in the European crab sector;

identifies and assesses opportunities for UK operators to export more value added brown crab, focusing on new products and quality labels; and provides a list of potential buying countries.

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