Norwegians lambasted for poor publicity
Several articles criticizing the high use of antibiotics in the Chilean salmon industry have recently been published, potentially enhancing the image of Norwegian salmon. However, the sector veteran and president of US-based supplier Seacorp Seattle, Alfredo Ovalle, says the publicity could damage the whole salmon farming industry.
"The Norwegian packers have shot themselves in the foot with this Costco move,” he said, adding that it might be tricky for the Norwegians to fulfil the terms of the new deal, as they may struggle to comply with a series of critical issues, such as real processing dates in Norway (compared to reprocessing dates in the US) on labels; a shorter shelf life compared to Chilean product; delays in arrival time, temperature issues, weight problems, etc.
“It took years for Chilean packers to master US demands. To keep buying from Norway, Costco will need to be very flexible in quality issues and accept very high prices. Time will tell how this work out,” he said.
Ovalle also said it is important to mention that wild salmon benefit from the farmed salmon industry. “If the hatchery programs in Alaska, for example had not been established with the native communities a long time ago…in many areas of Alaska the wild catch will have disappeared by now…Today the wild salmon is a hybrid….half farmed and half wild….. So is important to have all the facts and look for the positives areas and work to minimize the negative in a sustainable way,” he said.
Likewise, he believes that the market adjustments will soon return to normal once the Russian ban is lifted and the US$/NOK currency rate readjusts.
“This is not a question of replacing product from Chile,” he added. In turn, he said that all markets already are aware and realize that Chile complies with their local regulations and that Sernapesca does an excellent surveillance job.
“All Chilean salmon exports have no issues in this regard,” he said, adding that Norway, Scotland, Faroe Islands and Canada all have a space in the US market, but need to promote their salmon due to their quality issues, “it is bad business attacking or diminishing other producing countries”, he said.
“Chile farms fish in the most unpolluted waters in the world and that still is something to promote in a big way,” he stated.
Finally, Ovalle said that Costco should have the same policy for all proteins. “They need to understand that whenever they buy salmon from Chile that is a product that was farmed (like in other countries in the world) under the highest standards of farming and processing, complying with all regulations so their end user can buy it and enjoy the product as they do in many other supermarkets and restaurants in the USA and around the world,” he concludes.
