Saturday,Nov. 21, 4.36 p.m. CST
How to prevail in a saturated market
The shortanswer: product diversification and new sales channels, as two Taiwaneseimporters told IntraFish thisafternoon.
Bothcompanies – Johnson Seafood and Gem Ocean Seafood Corporation – are facing thesame issue: a highly saturated and at the same time competitive Taiwaneseseafood market with razor-thin margins.
“I’ve beenwith the company for eight years and I saw the potential back then,” saidRebecca Hung, who works in Gem Ocean’s purchasing department.
“But todayit’s a very stable market. Many companies have financial problems because ofthe high competition,” she told IntraFish.
Edward C.T.Lin, deputy general manager at $100 million turnover company Johnson, agreed.
“Taiwan isa very stable and saturated market, only a few big importers will be able tosurvive. It’s very difficult to grow,” he said.
To prevail,the company is constantly expanding its product portfolio. “We expand our itemsbut our profit still doesn’t grow,” he said.
Hung saidGem Ocean is also trying its hands on new products – and is looking for newchannels to introduce its products to end-consumers.
Shebelieves e-commerce could be one potential way, and is seeing a chance inTaiwan’s growing restaurant and tourism industry.
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Saturday, Nov. 21, 4.12 p.m. CST
Moving on from ‘theold Taiwan’
Taiwan is no longer characterized only by tuna and squid,Steven Wang, who works in the marketing department of VAP processor GallantOcean, told IntraFish this Saturdayafternoon.
The country “has changed and we need show that to the world,”he said.
Promotions, marketing and the show in Kaohsiung will helpachieve that, he believes, adding Gallant Ocean will be back at the secondedition of the show next year.
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Saturday,Nov. 21, 3.34 p.m. CST
Taiwan’s fishing industry calls for ‘flexibility’on EU yellow card
The pressureis on for Taiwan’s fishing industry, after the European Union issued ayellow card to the country on Oct. 1.
The country’sFisheries Agency is reportedlystrengthening current regulations on illegal, unreported and unregulated(IUU) fishing, and increase penalties to offenders in a bid to avoid furthersanctions.
However,many in the industry feel the issuance of the card by the EU was a “hasty” one.
The country’sindustry is “committed” to work on its standards, as Mao-Chen Wang, seniortechnical specialist at the Deep Sea Fisheries Division of the Fisheries Agency,Council of Agriculture, said.
But “wefeel the EU took too little time” to make its decision, he told IntraFish through an interpreter.
“In ourperspective Taiwan is still substantially better than other nations,” he said.
All of itsfishing vessels have vessel monitoring systems (VMS) installed, and standardsare in place, he said.
“While theEU is coming with good intentions, we believe there needs to be someflexibility,” he said. “We hope the EU will conduct due diligence and get arealistic view on our industry.”
Wen-Jiao Chen, CEO and founder of Taiwanese processor WenChi Seafood, agreed with Wang, telling IntraFishrather than “smacking down the smaller nations” it should push them towarddeveloping better standard, to help them eradicate IUU for good.
Europe is one of Wen Chi’s main markets. It suppliesyellowfin, bigeye and albacore tuna, bluefin tuna, marlin, swordfish, sailfish,shark, mahi-mahi, oilfish and other local species, which are frozen at sea andthen processed into blocks, loins, fillets, sashimi and other product forms at itsplant to more than 10 countries across the Union.
“If a red card is issued then all I can do is drown myselfin the ocean,” Chen said jokingly.
Wen Chi currently sells about 18,000 metric tons of fish –growing 20 percent from last year – and has an annual turnover of $40 million.
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Saturday,Nov. 21, 3.03 p.m. CST
Tuna firm feels the brunt of volatile Japanese currency
Taiwanesegroup Ocean Treasure is expecting a substantial drop in its 2015 turnover dueto the depreciation of the Japanese yen, Moore Huang, general manager at thefirm, told IntraFish.
“Thevolumes are the same but the problem is the exchange rate,” he said.
Last year,the company reported a turnover of $135 million – this will decline to about$90 million to $100 million this year.
“Prices forall species are down,” Huang said.
The company’smain products are bigeye, yellowfin and albacore tuna, as well as swordfish, marlin,Pacific mackerel, squid and saury, which are caught by the seven vesselsbelonging to daughter company Fong Jain Fishery.
Japan is akey market for the firm, which it sells through its Japanese subsidiaryHiroichi. Annually, it trades about 6,000 metric tons of sashimi alone to themarket, Huang said.
Next year,Huang hopes, will be a better one. The firm is currently investing in another threevessels, which are already undergoing refurbishment work at Kaohsiung port.
Inaddition, it will invest into a river carrier to supply sashimi to Japan.
However, ifthe situation doesn’t recover, the company will be looking at “trying todevelop” the US market, as well as targeting tuna processors in Bangkok andAmerican Samoa, Huang told IntraFish.
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Saturday, Nov. 21, 12.05 p.m. CST
Asia: Price still wins over sustainability
It's still difficult for Asian consumers to grasp the concept of sustainable seafood, Kevin Chen, manager Asia sales and marketing at Canadian firm North Delta Seafoods, said.
While the industry itself is seeing a shift, "consumers still don't really understand it," he told IntraFish. Price and personal taste still win over sustainability, he said.
"We need to educate them."
North Delta is doing its share by promoting and "pushing" wild fish and seafood, all regulated by quota and mostly MSC-certified, Chen said.
The group owns its own vessels to fish albacore tuna, sardines and wild Pacific salmon in the North Pacific. It also supplies sea urchins and spot prawn to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Europe.
Chen also believes that farmed fish is looking at darker times ahead as sustainability issues in general are getting more and more into the limelight.
"There is a trend around the world that the demand for farmed fish is shrinking," he said. "Do you know why? Because it's damaging to the environment."
While this is "not yet an issue with consumers" -- as again the price wins -- the tide will turn soon, Chen believes.
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Saturday, Nov. 21, 11.55 a.m. CST
Of shrimp woes and surimi's moment of glory
Slow Chinese demand and a hesitant market had an impact on Indian vannamei shrimp export prices this year, A.K. Singh, general manager at Ulka Seafoods, told IntraFish.
"Export prices are down but there is still a lot of demand within India. Domestic prices are still good," he said.
As a result, the export-focused trader -- with an annual turnover of about $50 million -- has seen volumes of its VAP shrimp products coming down.
Growth, Singh believes, will come from its biggest product: tropical surimi shrimp. Demand across Asia is strong, he said.
Ukla's main markets are in Taiwan, Europe, Russia, Middle East and southeast Asia, with surimi making up about 55 percent of the company's total sales.
The "very stable" supply and price situation of tropical surimi -- compared to the "volatile" pricing of Alaska pollock surimi will help boost Ukla's business, Singh believes.
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Saturday, Nov. 21, 10.45 a.m. CST
South Korea's seaweed dreams
Tuna continues to make up the biggest share of South Korea's fish and seafood exports -- valued at around $2.1 billion. But Chan-Bok Lee, managing director at the Korea Fishery Trade Association has another item in mind to drive future growth: seaweed.
Currently, exports amount to $300 million, ranking third behind tuna and squid.
To Taiwan alone, the country currently exports seafood products worth about $28 million, of which $11 million is seaweed. Lee expects this to grow to $14 million this year.
"Taiwan is a very attractive market for our exporters," he told IntraFish through an interpreter. "Although it's not a big country it's very important. It's related to China so we see an opportunity to expand to mainland China through Taiwan."
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Saturday, Nov. 20, 10.30 a.m. CST
Pangasius 'not hot anymore'
Vietnamese trading company Seafarm is specializing on canned tuna, value-added frozen shrimp products and octopus -- but when this IntraFish reporter asked Director Nguyen Son Hai Thuk why not pangasius, he said "it's no longer hot.
"It's not realistic, profits are very low and too many people are doing it," he said.
The company reported a turnover of $7 million in 2014, with main markets in Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East, Switzerland, Holland and Poland.
About 20 percent of the revenue comes from canned tuna, 50 percent from frozen seafood items and 30 percent from other frozen food items, Nguyen said.
This year, the company targets a turnover of $9 million to $10 million and by 2020 Nguyen hopes to reach 20 million.
He believes the US market is the next big thing for the company -- on the back of the recently signed Trans-Pacific Partnership. "Zero tax gives a good opportunity," he said.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 5.30 p.m. CST
Taiwan to launch national eco-stamp as MSC is 'no fit'
Steve Shyu, president of the Taiwan Fishery Economic Development Association, has one goal: Sustainable Taiwanese fish and seafood across the board.
For three years he has been working on setting up a national eco-stamp for the country's products -- wild capture and farmed -- and the association is planning to finally go live with it in 2017.
"We're trying to build up an eco-label for local supply," he told IntraFish.
The result? The Responsible Fishery Index (RFI), a model he hopes other smaller nations can take an example of how to develop their own, fairly cheap, and efficient sustainable stamp.
Shyu, an industry veteran with 30+ years of experience as an importer and trader, said while he supports labels such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), they are "not suitable" for the Taiwanese market.
While the MSC is well-recognized in western countries, it is still fairly unknown in Taiwan, he said, adding it is an "export-driven" certification that spends about 70 percent of its budget on marketing.
But it cannot cover the diversity of the local, coastal fisheries industry, which mainly supplies the domestic market.
"Around 10 percent of the global marine species are eaten in Taiwan. We must do it ourselves," he said. "We need to cover something the MSC can't cover."
Other than the MSC, the RFI is open to everyone "who is not IUU [illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing]," Shyu said.
So far, the RFI covers five indexes: the nutritional level of a product, the resource reliance, the stock situation, fisheries management and fishing and production methods.
Until the official launch in 2017, he hopes to add on pillars for social contribution, the carbon footprint and the benefits to consumers.
"There are still a lot of things to do to make this system better," he told IntraFish. Nevertheless, work has already begun and so far around 100 vessels have signed up, in addition to 50-60 aquaculture farms, four processing plants, as well as the Taiwanese foodservice and retail channels.
"It's small, but we cover the full supply chain," he said.
Budgeting for the label, however, remains an issue. So far, Shyu put his own profits through his trading company Upwelling Ocean -- which supplies retailers such as Costco -- into setting up the standard -- around NDT 5 million a year.
"Our aim is to only industrialize sustainable seafood," he said, explaining his investment. "We need to have a system to protect the marine environment as an industry together."
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Friday, Nov. 20, 5.10 p.m.
Surimi suppliers squeezed on price
Taiwan's surimi market is getting more and more difficult for raw material importers, Homer Lu, general manager at Frefish Frozen Food, told IntraFish.
"The Taiwanese market is small...and it's getting more competitive. It's all on price," he said.
The company, which was established five years ago and is in a JV with an Indonesian surimi factory, is nevertheless growing "step-by-step," he said.
"If the market situation is more stable in Taiwan we might want to go abroad," Lu said. China would be the obvious choice for the expansion.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 4.50 p.m. CST
Building a brand for Taiwanese grouper
Brand managers in Asia, and Taiwan for that matter, are rare -- but Pingtung-based grouper producer Lijia Green Eneregy Biotechnology has invested in one, all in the name of brandbuilding.
The position is held by Alice Chen, who told IntraFish the company is targeting high-end department stores with its frozen products. It is also marketing the grouper through its online shop.
"In recent years consumers are willing to pay more for the fish," she said -- and the right marketing plays an important role.
"Our advantage is that we produce the fish ourselves. A lot of our competitors buy it from other farmers," she said.
Lijia currently produces around 500,000 grouper fish a year across an area of 20 hectares in Pingtung County.
It is planning to expand its farming activities, Chen said, and is currently in discussion to buy more land for ponds.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 3.10 p.m. CST
Showcasing Taiwan to the world
Hu Hsiu Long, president at Taiwanese feed producer, farmer and processor Everlasting A-One Trading, only had positive things to say about the first Taiwan International Fisheries & Seafood Show, when talking to this IntraFish reporter on Friday.
"We're in full support of this show. Kaohsiung was the right choice," he said. "We want the outside world to know that Taiwanese products are high in quality -- and amazing."
Everlasting produces fish feed for high-value species such as grouper, eel, milkfish, threadfish and ayu -- at the same time it farms its own fish and sells it to the Taiwanese and Asian markets.
In terms of feed, Taiwan is "a bit saturated," Hu said. "We're looking at other parts of the world, mainly southeast Asia, but also further abroad."
Having this show at its doorstep might come in handy then.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 2.40 p.m. CST
Red tilapia gone big
Taiwanese broodstock supplier Grand Ocean Fishery is set to start producing red tilapia fingerlings raised in on-land tanks using ocean water from the second half of 2016, Tsao Te Kuan, president at the firm, told IntraFish.
"We will the first company in the world to do so," he said, through an interpreter.
The company is expecting to initially produce "a few hundred thousand," he said.
Benefits include that ocean water is cleaner, less microbacteria, that the salt content is higher, and the flesh "simply tastes better," he said.
Overall, Grand Ocean supplies around 30 million plus tilapia fingerlings. Its main markets are Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Singapore.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 2.24 p.m. CST
Cage friends
Cage farming technology provider Toford Aquaculture is looking to expand out of Asia and is looking for partners overseas, the firm's Dave Chen told IntraFish.
"Our focus is still on Asia but we're trying to get more business elsewhere," he said.
This year, Toford's main focus has been on Japan, where it installed around 20 cages to be used as kampachi farms, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia.
It is currently in talks with a customer in Mexico, Chen said, and recently found a dealer in Finland to tackle the Scandinavian market.
"The largest market is still in northern Europe, in Scandinavia," Chen said, adding margins in the region are "higher."
The Norwegian market is especially "tough" to get in, he told IntraFish, but Toford hopes to ink some partnerships with other cage tech companies to gain a foothold in the market.
"You need to have friends in this business," Chen said.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 12.02 p.m. CST
EMS: Next year 'will be worse'
Grobest's Jennifer Kuo believes Asia's shrimp industry is not done yet with the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) crisis.
Talking to IntraFish on Friday morning she said 2015 has been a bad year in different countries, but based on data, and on-site research the group undertook, "next year will be worse."
She was coy about naming any specific countries but gave the example of China, saying only about 10 to 20 percent of farms today are reporting no issues whatsoever.
However, it's not only EMS farmers there are struggling with, but a combination of things, including whitespot disease, SSV, parasites and pond management issues overall.
El Nino, is also challenging, she said, resulting in higher temperatures, which is stressful for the animal but also has an impact on pond environment.
Another issue is that the EMS pathogen keeps evolving.
"This is my observation," Kuo stressed. "But from a scientific viewpoint and from Grobest's observations next year is going to be worse."
She called for a "new balance" to shrimp breeding programs -- moving away from the concept of quick growth to disease-resistant shrimp.
"Fast growth and disease-resistant shrimp are on different sides," Kuo said.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 11.30 a.m. CST
Grobest 'ready for IPO'
Taiwanese feed giant Grobest has been pondering an initial public offering (IPO) for a while and it is "ready" to go public, Jennifer Kuo, general manager and head of animal health at the firm, told IntraFish.
The $850 million turnover company is, however, still unsure where it will list, she said.
"There are many factors to take into consideration," she said. "Grobest is ready for an IPO but the real question is where, when and how. But regardless, everything is settled."
But listed or not, the main focus of the company will remain the same, she said. "We will continue to work beyond of what's needed [in the industry]."
The perhaps main reason to seek public listing is the company's aggressive expansion drive. Earlier this year, executives at the firm told IntraFish it is planning to add five new feed mills in Asia, in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China.
Kuo now said the new mill in the Philippines will be inaugurated by the end of this month. The one in Malaysia is "under construction" and the firm is currently looking at sites for its second plant in India.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 5.16 p.m. CST
ASC boost for tilapia
"Not bad," replied Frank C.H. Tsai, president of vertically integrated processor Fortune, when asked by this IntraFish reporter how business was going.
"The industry is globally on a downward trend, but the EU and US are still good for us," he said.
Fortune, which farms tilapia, shrimp and grouper, and produces its own feed, has seen a boost in these markets from its Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for its tilapia farms.
"Organic production is key," Tsai said.
Fortune's biggest markets for tilapia are Korea (70 percent), Japan, the United States and Europe (10 percent each).
Tsai expects demand to grow in Europe in particular "because they value organic and sustainable products," he said.
Despite higher production cost on the back of the ASC certification, which the company is not planning to pass on to its customers, Fortune still expects to increase turnover by about 10 percent in the coming years.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 4.18 p.m. CST
Cobia farmer eyes US, EU markets after expanding production
Taiwan's Ever Spring is looking to ramp up its cobia farming capacity from currently 700 to 2,000 metric tons, Leo Huang, who works in the company's marketing department, told IntraFish.
The firm plans to expand the size of its current cages, which will make a "huge difference" to its production output, Huang said.
After the expansion "we hope to export more to our main market China and also hope to enter the US and Europe," he told IntraFish.
Ever Spring currently has a turnover of around NTD 120 million ($4 million).
When asked what future turnover targets are, Huang answered diplomatically, saying "our target is to provide high-quality, healthy food. Cobia is eight times richer in protein than salmon and we want everyone to know that."
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 3.45 p.m. CST
Taiwanese broodstock producers banking on quality, not quantity
Broodstock used to be big business in Taiwan but other southeast Asian countries are taking an increasingly bigger market share, Yu-Nei Heng, president of the Fish Breeding Association Taiwan, told IntraFish.
"A lot of the countries, including China, are now producing their own broodstock, which is why our exports are declining," he said, through an interpreter.
Demand for Taiwanese fries has therefore shifted from Indonesia and China to countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
This trend, Heng believes, is partly responsible why farmers in those countries are battling with quality issues and diseases. "It is a serious problem, especially in China," he said.
He described China as the "biggest freshwater producer" in the world. "Their tonnage is huge but they never improved their production and broodstock technology," Heng said.
"They are now where we were 40 years ago, the only difference is that we've never been able to produce the volumes."
Taiwan's "secret weapons," to remain a major player in the broodstock market, are new species -- in particular different variations of grouper -- and the quality of its genetics.
"We put a lot of effort into this," Heng said. "We're not smarter or better than others but we make investments in R&D. We lost a lot but we've learned from it."
This is why Heng remains "optimistic" that the industry will keep growing. "We're pursuing the high-quality level," he said.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 3.05 p.m. CST
'Depressed' processing industry? Not if you offer halal
Processing equipment supplier Anko Food Machine -- one of Taiwan's biggest -- is seeing major shifts in demand for its machines, Chairman Robert Ooyoung told IntraFish.
Europe and Japan are "depressed," mainly on the back of the volatile currency situation. But demand is picking up in other regions including southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as Russia.
"We're predicting a growth rate of about 5 to 10 percent this year," he said. "It's a little bit slower but we're always looking for new markets. Next year we will focus on the Middle East."
In addition to the ever-changing market, Taiwanese equipment suppliers are increasingly seeing competition from China, which are offering their machinery for about 40 percent less than their Taiwanese counterparts.
"We're facing issues with that," Ooyoung said.
Anko will be alright though, he said. "We're always innovating and developing."
Spring rolls, dim sum-style dumplings and Indian food are growing worldwide and "booming" in countries such as Russia and Canada.
The next big thing in frozen value-added seafood, he believes, is halal food. "Imagine, the worldwide Muslim population is 1.7 billion today. Halal will be growing, we predict."
Taiwan's domestic market will remain slow and Anko will remain export-driven. About 95 percent of its total sales come from overseas markets, where it is able to fetch margins of about 30 to 40 percent.
"Locally, we only get about 20 percent margins" due to the bigger competition, he said.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 2.45 p.m. CST
Fish farming getting big in Taiwan
Aquaculture will grow in importance globally, no doubt to that -- and Taiwan is no different.
Fifteen years ago about 30 percent of Taiwan's total fish and seafood output came from aquaculture, according to Chen Lien Sheng, president of the Taiwan Offshore Aquaculture Association. This has shifted to 50 percent about five years ago.
"Yes, for sure it will grow, that's 100 percent sure," he told IntraFish, adding somehow the country will have to make up for replenishing wild fish stocks.
The biggest species are cobia, pompano -- for the domestic market -- as well as grouper -- for which China is the biggest market -- and silver seabream -- which "is big in Japan."
There are challenges, however.
One of the biggest is the lack of government support, he said. The ruling party KMT "is not very supportive" and no funding goes toward developing the sector, he said.
Chen Lien Sheng hopes this will change with general elections in January 2016.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 12.05 p.m. CST
Moving away from 'common' fish
Taiwanese firm E Hong Aqua Agri International (EHAA) has its fingers in a lot of pies: broodstrock production, fish farming through its partner Formosa Marine Farm, and consultancy on feed mills and aquaculture.
All its activities are, however, focused on marine fish, Scott Chen, marketing manager at the company, told IntraFish.
High value and low volumes is the motto, he said. Fish include pompano, different types of snapper, different grouper species and porgy.
The company's main markets are Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam for its fries, and the domestic one for its own fish.
And that's where the company will continue to focus on, Chen said. "Globally aquaculture is booming, but maybe tilapia and carp are too common so we see great opportunities in these countries," he said.
EHAA is ready to support with broodstock, know-how and technical expertise.
Interest for these high-value marine species is also growing from the Middle East, Chen said, but the United States and also Europe are not very interesting for the company.
These fish "are very market-driven," he told IntraFish. At the show, EHAA hopes to get "more exposure" for the fish and make customers "realize they can be farmed in ponds," not only in marine cages.
The company reports annual sales of $1 million from its fry business and $10 million total group turnover, Chen said.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 11.15 a.m. CST
Developing an industry
The show's organizers -- TAITRA and My Exhibition -- have high hopes the show will help boost Taiwan's fishing, aquaculture and related industries, they said during the official opening this morning.
Yih-Jyh Kang, executive director of the exhibition department at TAITRA, said it has three purposes: fetching international business opportunities, increase the sector's exposure, and improve its status internationally.
"We have a great chance to develop this as a sustainable industry," he said.
Bell Chang, president of My Exhibition, said this show was "beyond our expectations. It's evidence of the great growth potential of this industry."
During her opening remarks, Tzu-Wen Tseng, deputy secretary general of Kaohsiung City Government, said it will also help develop the industry's image with consumers and do away with some of the "food security issues" that still prevail.
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Thursday, Nov. 19, 9.30 a.m. CST
Big expectations, big business
IntraFish is back in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to report from the first ever Taiwan International Fisheries and Seafood Show, set to take place at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center from Nov. 19 to 21, 2015.
Organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and My Exhibition, the show features 210 companies from the country's multi-faceted fisheries and aquaculture industry.
Apart from domestic firms, overseas exhibitors from more than 14 countries, including South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, are expected to attend the event.
Taiwan's deep-sea fishing industry is the third largest in the world, valued at NTD 100 billion ($3 billion) annually and employing about 330,000 staff, according to the show organizers.
Business deals are expected to exceed $20 million as more than 6,000 international and domestic buyers will be attending the show.
The event comes in light of mounting pressure on Taiwan to get a grip on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, and in face of growing pressure on fish stocks and other marine resources.
We'll be at the show floor to bring you all the news from the event.
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