Thursday, Sept. 24, 1.00 p.m. CET
One sea divided in two
In the United States, Alaska pollock fisheries are able to maintain sustainability levels due to an individual quota allocated for each company, said Jae Park, organizer of the 9th European Surimi Forum.
The total allowable catch (TAC) in the Eastern Barents Sea was set at 1,329,000 metric tons in 2015 of which 45-55 percent went toward surimi production, depending on the manufacturer.
It is the highest quota since 2010, and the TAC is expected to remain strong next year, with surimi production also expected to grow by 5 percent.
Pacific whiting is the second-largest fishery used for surimi for production. For the last 25 years, the TAC for whiting has remained at about 300,000 metric tons a year.
With only one company making pacific whiting surimi in the United States, “it is a very sustainable fish, and it’s MSC certified as well,” Park said.
Last year the only company producing Pacific whiting surimi in the United States produced around 25,000 metric tons of it.
“Small fish is not very good for fillets, but it is really good for surimi,” Park said. “Fisheries in pollock and Pacific whiting in the United States are very solid, extremely good.”
--------------------------
Thursday, Sept. 24, 12.15 p.m. CET
The secret to being premium – it’s not just the quality
It’s the small details that make the difference, and if you want your product to stand out, you need to make your customers believe that this product is better, said Jean-Luc Beliveau.
Luxury products need to be expensive. Why is a Lexus -- which Toyota produces -- a premium-quality car, and a standard Toyota just a quality car? Because the first has a larger market value perception.
In the surimi market, the formula is the same: cheap prices might make your product popular, but high prices make it premium.
People are attracted by the way things look, and how valuable it seems to be. If a company wants to push the market into premium territory, it needs new packaging that can protect the expensive product that’s inside.
Packaging that says, “I am a strong, I’m printed with gold and silver, and I’m worth a fortune," Belliveau said.
In the food market, If you don’t have a premium brand name and high level of know-how on your packaging, you will not succeed, he added.
--------------------------
Thursday, Sept. 24, 11.40 p.m. CET
Will ADISUR get the EC to maintain current quotas?
The Association des Enterprises de Produits Alimentaires Elabores (ADISUR) has categorized imports of frozen surimi products into the EU into four different groups since 2012, said Pierre Commere, executive director of the group.
In 2013, 54 percent of surimi imported was Alaska pollock, followed by 28 percent of “other species,” 18 percent of whitefish, and 0 percent of freshwater fish.
The conventional duty was set at 14.2 percent, and the current quota only for fish, and only for human consumption, has remained the same, 66,000 metric tons a year with 0 percent duty since 2013.
For the years from 2016-2018, the European Commission has proposed lowering the quota by 36 percent, from 66,000 metric tons to 42,000 metric tons.
“At the moment, there is an ongoing discussion between the commission and the industry, which is calling for a continuation of the 66,000 metric tons,”said Commere.
Speaking of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Commere said Europe has the necessary tools to fight it, and the possibility to identify and ban imports from “non-cooperating third countries.”
Three countries are currently under the EC's 'red card' status: Cambodia, Guinea, and Sri Lanka. Thirteen others, including Thailand, are closely monitored by the Commission, operating under a 'yellow card.'"
Among other advances announced by Commere was the change of the name for surimi products.
“What you know now as surimi seafood will be simply surimi,” he said.
Marketing campaigns, bigger presence on social media, an updated and more complete website with information available in various languages, and “happy surimi hours” with cooking shows in nine major cities in France with popular chef Benjamin Khalifa as ambassador are just a few examples of the promotions for the product in the past years.
“Since 2011 there was a decrease in the market, but trends in 2015 indicate that volumes will increase by 2.4 percent, and value by 2.1 percent,” he said.
--------------------------
Thursday, Sept. 24, 11.10 a.m. CET
Falling production levels in China
China produced a staggering 225,000 metric tons of surimi last year, of which 20,000 metric tons came from marine fish.
However, in Zheijang -- the country's largest production base -- output dropped 15 percent during the year and was down to 120,000 metric tons, compared to the 142,000 metric tons produced in 2013, according to Joe Zhou of Future Seafood China.
The industry attributes this decrease to the implementation of new strict environmental protection and safety standards.
Many small surimi factories in the region were forced to stop operations permanently as they could not afford to upgrade their water treatment systems, one of the requirements under the new standards.
Other major surimi producing areas include the southern regions of Fuijan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Those areas produced 25,000, 20,000, and 30,000 metric tons of marine fish surimi, respectively, in 2014.
The production of freshwater surimi was previously increasing year-on-year, but also suffered a decrease in 2014.
In the same year, prices of marine fish hit a historically low point, and it was hard to stay competitive against silver carp and cheaper surimi imported from Vietnam, Zhou said.
In the first half of 2015, production of marine fish surimi remained low, he said.
Mixed fish surimi production is looking at a difficult future ahead, he added, as consumer demand is low.
This leaves producers in a very bad position for the rest of the year, Zhou told delegates.
--------------------------
Thursday, Sept. 24, 9.00 a.m. CET
How good does surimi really taste?
Processors would answer "very good," but Jean-Marc Sieffermann, professor at AgriTech Paris, disagrees.
Sieffermann is a scientist who works to develop sensory analytical studies and apply the results – both of an objective and a subjective nature — to the creation and development of new products that can be profitable for a company.
“Sensory properties do not exist within the product, when we talk about odors, flavors, tastes, we are talking about something that’s generated by the human body,” he said.
“All human bodies are different, and in addition they all have different experiences behind, and this affect their perception. From a sensory point of view good or bad products don’t exist -- we create the pleasure.”
The challenge of sensory analytics is to take into account human diversity, use both food experts and consumers’ opinions, and create something that is descriptively good, and is liked by people, he told delegates at the forum.
To have an idea of how subjective perceptions and objective descriptions can be used together in order to create something that sells, you need two voices.
“Experts are trained, they can give you a strong analytical description of the product, but they don’t know if people will like it, you can only know that by asking consumers.”
Science, marketing, quality control, all these fields emerge in the studies of consumer segmentation, in order to create a product that sells, but at the end, it is all about you, Sieffermann said.
Besides, it is not only about individual perceptions, but also about the way different people use a same product, Sieffermann said.
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 11.00 a.m. CET
Transparency isn’t about truth, it is about simplicity
Big food companies in the US are losing sales, and the food industry’s reputation is now similar to the tobacco industry's, said North Carolina State University Professor Tyre Lanier.
The industry's major challenge is the increasing demand of real information on food packaging, only that what people are actually asking for is legible labels, and once they get this, they enjoy their food better.
Lanier delighted his audience with his speech. The industry is moving towards sustainability, but what people really want is to see non-chemical names on the packaging.
“It is not anymore about enjoying the food, now, what matters is where this food came from, who raised it, how did they raise it," he said. “Eat clean, eat simple” is the new mantra.
In the United States, 75 percent of consumers claim to read nutritional values, but what they are doing is just looking for the bad stuff.
“People don’t trust the industry," Lanier said. "Whatever they do, it is bad.”
The market is turning into a whole lie, consumers want the impossible, and yet the industry can give it to them.
A product made of ingredients that can be found at grandma’s, that were raised -- caught, in our case -- by a fisherman whose face and name they know, and they want it anytime of the day, any day of the year, and most importantly, they want it to taste good.
Lanier is sure everything that we eat today is "perfectly safe,” but if the name sounds chemical, people don’t want it, even though “everything is chemical in the world, even our own bodies.”
The solution? To change the names on the labels. Potassium chloride, for instance, needs to be called sea salt, it sounds better, it feels better.
Nobody knows what they mean by “natural," but it is one of the main characteristics people look for on food packaging.
“In a room full of nutritionists, you could never figure out what’s healthy and what’s not from a packaging label, let alone a room full of consumers,” he said.
Nowadays, people have so much information about what they eat that they don’t know what to do with it -- they are not trained to understand it.
“The food industry is facing the challenge of changing something that sounds bad, for something that sounds good, without changing an ingredient which is not at all unhealthy, and is essential to create a convenient, tasteful, durable product," Lanier said.
The industry is not turning more transparent, it is just telling people what they want to hear.
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 11.00 a.m. CET
Spain: Optimism is finally back
Spanish markets started seeing recovery at the end of 2014, Elena Baz, marketing manager at Angulas Aguinaga, told her audience at the European Surimi Forum School.
“We have evaluated the growth in sales, and we have seen some progress. July and August 2015 have been the best months in the surimi sector since the financial crisis started,” she said.
According to their studies, consumption trends in Spain have changed during and after the recession, there are new culinary habits, and traditional recipes have lost popularity in the last year.
“Consumers are moving towards more natural ways of cooking," she said.
And where do they buy the product? The strong value of the dollar, as opposed to a devalued euro, is an obstacle.
“Raw material is more expensive, but this is not reflected in the final product prices, which makes the situation very complicated,” Baz said.
Sixty seven percent of the surimi consumed in Spain – the European country with the highest surimi consumption per capita — is bought from retailers, against a 33 percent eaten in foodservice establishments such as restaurants.
With 50 percent of retail surimi sold in Mercadona, a leading low-cost Spanish retailer, surimi remains a concentrated market.
Despite the growth in consumption, Spanish consumers still don’t eat enough fish, and the surimi industry is looking at younger generations to implement higher levels of consumption.
Surimi has many advantages in terms of convenience – a word we have heard few times in the forum —when compared with fresh fish.
“It is easy to buy, easy to prepare, high in proteins, low in calories, and is a nice taste for all the targets," she said.
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10.45 a.m. CET
Surimi progress in the Old Continent
In Western Europe, Spain and France are the main surimi consumers, but processors have lately been struggling in France.
“We have been working on different marketing and communication strategies in France, but there has been a decrease of sales in the last year nevertheless,” explained Coline Millard, from purchasing and consulting company ColFisher, who held a joint presentation with Jean-Luc Beliveau, Alliance Oceane research and development director.
The trend, however, seems to go towards “quality products.” Consumers are now able to increasingly differentiate on quality, "and branded surimi is not struggling as much as non-branded product,” said Beliveau.
One very dynamic segment in France is “specialties," he said. "Mini snacks, cheese fillings, slices ... different recipes of crab sticks are constantly being brought to the markets. It is not about new products -- they are different varieties of the same product, and it is working.”
In Spain, consumers are shifting from frozen surimi to chilled surimi, and products such as tuna and salmon sticks are very popular in Italy, while they were a complete failure in France.
In the United Kingdom, consumers are increasingly asking for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified products.
When asked about central Europe, Hungary, or the Czech Republic, Beliveau confirmed he didn’t have many statistics from these markets available.
“But we have visited many supermarkets there, and the fish market is very small -- they mainly eat meat,” he said.
A delegate from the audience confirmed the surimi market in those countries is small, but “it is making slow progress.”
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10.30 a.m. CET
Thailand loses, Vietnam wins
Thailand's surimi imports have seen a massive increase in the last five years, jumping from 2,300 metric tons in 2010 to an estimated 40,000 metric tons this year.
But there is one issue, which is one of the main subjects discussed at the ninth surimi forum -- the country's fishing regulations.
When the yellow card was given to Thailand by the EU in April this year, 80 percent of Thai fleet was not registered.
As a result of the following crackdown, which saw a number of vessels go out of operation, the country has become one of the main importers of surimi in the world, said Anucha Tecnitisawad of Andaman Surimi.
All this is not bad news for Vietnam, though, which exported 14,800 metric tons of surimi to Thailand in the months from January-July.
It is estimated that by the end of the year, these figures will reach 27,000 metric tons, jumping from 18,100 metric tons in 2014.
Thai exports are likely to fall 40 percent this year, and high prices for raw material don’t make things easier for the country, according to Tecnitisawad.
Indications are surimi prices will not drop any lower in the coming years, and Thailand has a very tight deadline to convince Europe it is making enough and effective exports towards legal fishing.
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10.00 a.m. CET
Why not in Europe?
Global consumption of surimi is on the rise, but despite its proven nutritional value, Europe's consumption is lagging behind.
Let's take the example of South Korea. Around 130,000 metric tons of surimi are imported every year and demand is gradually increasing, said Surimi Forum founder and director Jae Park.
The main exporters are Vietnam and China, however, purchases of Alaska pollock surimi from the United States grew nearly 10 percent last year.
South Korea is the largest fried fish cake consumer in the world, using 95 percent of imported surimi for this final product.
Despite today’s perception that anything that’s fried is automatically fatty, unhealthy food, fishcakes only contain a maximum of 3 percent fat, Park said.
“There is no batter and breading, oil is removed during the processing stage, and the fish protein has a film protection, preventing fat from traveling from the outside-in, and the other way around,” said Park.
“They make sure in three different ways that the fat content of the product is at the lowest levels."
In South Korea, 300,000 metric tons of fried fish cake -- called "ah mook" -- are consumed yearly. So why not in Europe?
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 9.45 a.m. CET
Are inventory levels critical, or just readjusting?
“If one loves surimi, one needs to be close to Nippon [Suisan Kaisha],” said Willem Appeldorn from subsidiary JP Klausen.
There are a few factors negatively affecting inventory levels, which were low in the first half of 2015, but are expected to grow in the second half of the year.
The weak Japanese yen and the stronger US dollar have resulted in higher prices.
Lower landings of Alaska pollock are also a remarkable factor in that sense – Japanese fleets have been reduced to nine vessels, instead of the 11 vessels fishing last year, and weather conditions are also having a negative impact on stocks.
Demand on domestic pollock surimi is nationally increasing, and will remain strong in the second half of the year, Appledorn predicted.
To satisfy demand, Japan is looking to other markets.
“There was a slight increase of imports in July 2015; Japan needs to go outside to be able to supply the demand," Appledorn said.
Despite worrying inventory levels during the past six months, the industry stands confident that the situation improves, and Appeldorn considers the volumes will see a readjustment.
“We are entering the second half of the year, and inventory levels are already increasing, this is the trend every year,” he said
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8.00 a.m. CET
IUU -- the root of all evil
Tropical fish surimi production jumped 61 percent globally in the last decade.
However, total production is estimated to drop in 2015. A total of 530,000 metric tons are estimated, down from 552,000 metric tons in 2014.
The reason for the fall? Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“Thailand is under much pressure from Europe to decrease IUU fishing, when the yellow card was given to Thailand, over 80 percent of its vessels were not registered,” said Pascal Genneugues from Future Seafood.
Forty percent of vessels in Thailand stopped operating since July, and Indonesia became the largest exporter to the country.
The industry remains on alert about Thailand's situation.
Although the industry is requesting a postponement of the October deadline for a second assessment, which Europe will determine if Thailand deserves a red card, the EU has so far not extended the six months initially given.
--------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7.30 a.m. CET
Let's talk about surimi
"In Eastern Europe several companies disappeared because they were more interested in making money than in offering good quality," Oregon State University's Jae Park, and organizer of Surimi Forum, told delegates at the 9th edition of the event.
Speaking on behalf of Robert Delin, who wasn't able to attend, he said quality, new products and traceability systems are the key to keeping the industry strong, while R&D is the main driver in helping the sector grow.
It is the 61st international event Park has organized, but he still has some fresh ideas.
"Crab stick consumption in Spain is still growing, but the surimi seafood industry started in 1988, and markets need new products," he said.
European markets will welcome different products, such as fish cakes, he said.
"In the US, we are now eating Taiwan-made surimi dried snack, which may not taste very good when you first try them, but when microwaved, they get a very nice crunchy touch. They are a very good product," he said.
Delegates will be able to try it later in the day -- but this IntraFish reporter is afraid there's no microwave in the hotel hall.
--------------------------
