Canadian shellfish giant Clearwater is seeing contrasting fortunes between the group's sales in China and North America, but while COVID-19 headwinds are expected to continue, the recent acquisition of the group has put wind in the company's sails, CEO Ian Smith said on a conference call Tuesday.

Clearwater reported a 10 percent decrease in third quarter earnings this week as the company continued to struggle with reduced foodservice sector orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter falling 10 percent to CAD 30.9