The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in January awarded OBI Seafoods the majority of two separate contracts for canned salmon, handing out a total of $52 million (€45.8 million) to the Seattle-based company.
The USDA announced Jan. 20 that OBI Seafoods, jointly owned by Canada-based Cooke Inc. and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC), won a bid for 673,360 cases of 24-count 14.75-ounce cans of pink salmon valued at over $47 million (€41.4 million).
The week prior, the federal agency awarded OBI Seafoods nearly $5 million (€4.4 million) of a separate $7 million (€6.2 million) bid for 47,120 cases of 24-count 14.75-ounce cans of sockeye.
The USDA also awarded Trident Seafoods some of the two canned salmon bid along with a contract for frozen pollock for fish sticks and nuggets valued at around $12.5 million (€11 million).
Massachusetts-based Channel Fish also received a small portion of the USDA for pollock.
The salmon and pollock will be used for the agency's National School Lunch program and Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs across the United States.
The total bid awarded to all of the seafood companies was valued at $61.8 million (€54.5 million).
The US government's purchases of seafood in 2021 was at near-record levels.
