Danish seafood processing giant Espersen is turning its attention onto its core markets and activities and scaling back its growth plans to prepare for what it expects is an upcoming recession.

“We have suspended the growth strategy we had, and we are now focused on the core activities for next year,” Espersen CEO Klaus Nielsen told IntraFish.

This means focusing on the group’s existing business, customers, markets, and raw material, he said.

As part of the process to focus on sales in Europe and the United States, Espersen recently closed two sales offices in Asia -- one in Hong Kong and one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.