China Aquatic Products Channel original report, into the Chinese retail market, the launch of a new packaging facing the C-end, the establishment of three major product lines led by silver cod, tuna and lobster, the Chinese market ushered in another seafood giant.
According to customs statistics, in 2017, the total import and export volume of aquatic products in China was 9.2365 million tons, and the total import and export volume was 32.496 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.56% and 7.92% respectively year-on-year, both of which hit a record high. In the past ten years, the amount of imported aquatic products in China has been increasing, all kinds of aquatic products have been sold to the Chinese market around the world, and the people have adapted from strange to loved to habitual daily consumption, adapting very quickly, and China has become the world's most popular aquatic products market.
But if you have to choose the most successful fish in the Chinese market, it is toothfish (trade name: silver cod). The flesh is white, the taste is tender, there is no small thorn between the muscles, the wide market visibility, the good product image, the stable circulation price, even if the annual output is very limited and the price is high, but once the goods arrive, they are sought after by importers and traders. All this, silver cod took only 15 years.
15 years ago, silver cod had just entered the Chinese market and could only be eaten in high-end hotels and restaurants, and people's awareness of silver cod was not high. At that time, Japan was still the largest market for global cod consumption.
Today, 15 years later, cod has achieved unprecedented success in China, the Japanese can no longer afford to eat cod, and China has become the world's largest consumer market for cod.
In fact, silver cod is not cod, they are not gadiformes species, but perciformes. However, because the meat quality is similar to cod, Chinese consumers follow the name of the Japanese market: "silver cod" as a trade name to call it, and this name has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the popularity in the domestic market is extremely high. In the United States and Canada, it is known as Chilean sea bass.
At present, there are two kinds of "silver cod" sold in the Chinese market: one is the small scaled canine tooth Antarctic fish, scientific name: dissostichus eleginoides, English name: patagonian toothfish, also known as Patagonia canine toothfish; the second is the Antarctic canine toothfish, scientific name: dissostichus mawsoni, English name: antarctic toothfish. Both species of fish live in the waters off antarctica and are marine migratory fish, living in waters 1200-1800 meters deep, and the cold and pure sea is the basis for ensuring its high quality.
Fishing vessels registered in France, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and other countries can catch cod in the waters off Antarctica. However, in the Chinese market, only french cod is famous, although the price is slightly more expensive than other countries, but it still attracts the attention of catering channels and professional distributors in the seafood industry.
Since the area around mainland France is not inhabited and fished by cod, the real fishing area for cod is the French overseas islands near Antarctica. The fishing area is subordinate to France, and each permitted fishing vessel is registered and approved by the French fisheries authorities and subject to quota management.
Between the French Overseas Territories near Antarctica: the Kerguelen lslands and crozet lslands, French fishing vessels have quotas for silver cod, which are shipped to the French island of Reunion for sorting and storage, from where they are distributed worldwide. Quotas for the annual harvest of cod are strictly regulated by governments and managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Enterprises found to have exceeded their fishing quotas or fished illegally will be subject to strict penalties. All this ensures that the resources of cod are protected and can be continuously provided to consumers.
The high price of silver cod is partly due to its unique quality and difficult-to-catch operating environment, and on the other hand, its rare production. In 2018, the allowable catch of silver cod in the world was only 29618 tons, and there will be some slight changes in the annual fishing quota, but the overall change is not large. France accounts for about 20 percent of the global cod fishing quota, or around 6,000 tonnes.
Among the French cod fishing enterprises, sapmer Group has obtained the largest quota of cod fishing recognized by the French government, and is the largest cod fishing enterprise in France. Mr. Christopher Talbot, Chief Operating Officer of Sapmer Group, and Paul David, CEO of Marketing Business Unit, were interviewed by Seafood Guide during the China International Fisheries Expo in Qingdao. Talking about the development situation of global seafood and the future plan of the Chinese market, he expressed full confidence in China's seafood market, let's take a look.
<b>Paul David (left), CEO of sapmer Group's Marketing Business Unit, and CoO Christopher Talbot (right</b>).
Silver cod is a product that Sapmer is proud of, and silver cod has also helped Splashmer raise its profile in the Chinese market. Sapmer silver cod has a resounding name in China, and everyone calls him "a fish in France".
The name derives from the pattern of a fish on the box of the Sapmer silver cod product packaging. At that time, everyone did not know the literal translation of Sapmer's Chinese name, nor did they know English, and the most direct way for Chinese trade and commercial use gave Sapmer a "Chinese name". This also directly proves the popularity of "French fish" in the Chinese market, and now go to the stalls of major markets and talk about the name of "French fish" almost everyone knows. Behind this, in addition to the popularity of silver cod in the Chinese market, it is also inseparable from Sapmer's cultivation of the Chinese market.
Founded in 1947, sapmer Group started with traditional cage fishing rock lobsters in the waters of french Reunion Island, and after 71 years of development, it has become the largest enterprise in French cod fishing, and tuna and lobster are also its main products. In 2009, sapmer was listed on the European Exchange and owns 9 tuna purse seine fishing vessels, 4 canine toothfish longline fishing vessels, as well as 1 cage shrimp catcher and 2 tuna processing plants. Headquartered in Reunion Island, it has sales offices in Paris, France and Shanghai, China.
"Sapmer Group owns 50% of the fishing quota for French cod in the fishing season, and catches about 3,000 tons of cod per year, making it the largest cod fishing enterprise in France. Half of the world's French cod comes from us, which is our pride. Paul David, CEO of sapmer Group's Marketing Business Unit, said.
Although Sapmer is widely known in China for its silver cod, one of sapmer Group's biggest products is yellowfin tuna. Tuna production accounts for around 50-60% of its total annual production, with an annual production of around 60,000 tonnes. Harvested from the warm equatorial current sea in Area 51 of the Indian Ocean, all using ultra-low temperature cold chain technology, the yellowfin tuna caught on the ship is immediately frozen at -40 degrees on board, and after landing, it is sent to the factory for processing and segmentation, and under the protection of the whole cold chain, it is delivered to the people's table. Taste quality and food safety of the product can be completely ensured.
Tuna is the product of The Sharper Group's chief operating officer, Christopher Talbot, has high hopes. "We hope that tuna can be widely accepted by consumers in the Chinese market, which is healthy and high-quality seafood and the first choice for people who pay attention to health." The whole cold chain is the most respected processing and transportation mode in Sapmer, "which helps us to preserve and transport seafood, ensuring the quality and taste of the product." Whether it's tuna, silver cod or lobster, sapmer's products are frozen in the shortest possible time and ensure frozen transport throughout. ”
In addition, Sapmer has São Paulo rock lobsters from the cold waters near Antarctica, which produce less than 500 tons a year and are a favorite of Japan's top seafood diners. Shipped directly from Sapmer Reunion Island to well-known restaurants in Ginza, Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo, Japan.
Sapmer's silver cod is all caught by longline fishing, which is different from ordinary net fishing, and longline fishing can ensure the shape and quality of fish meat, avoiding the deformation and congestion of fish meat caused by squeezing during the fishing process. In addition, most of the sizes of French silver cod are 3-8kg/bar, which is the most popular specification on the market.
There is no doubt that the Chinese market has a huge attraction for Sapmer, and Paul David, CEO of Sapmer Marketing, said: "The demand for Sapmer cod in the Chinese market is very large, and now, more than 50% of our silver cod is sold to the Chinese market, mainly through large circulation channels." In addition, the United States, Europe and some countries in Southeast Asia are also our main sales markets, and sales in the Chinese market are still increasing. ”
After being caught on board, the cod is cut and dirty directly on board and frozen and packaged, with the whole process only taking more than 10 hours. Then, it is transported to major markets around the world through the low temperature cold chain to ensure that the flesh of the silver cod is white, the meat is delicate and the taste is plump.
Sapmer is a global practitioner of sustainable seafood fishing, in order to ensure the rational use of cod resources, sapmer has specially arranged 4 staff to take charge of sustainable fishing projects, committed to all catches strictly in accordance with quota permits, and strictly supervised by the relevant authorities to avoid overexploitation of marine resources, and strive to protect non-food fish and other living marine resources. The long-standing persistence has received a number of high-level certifications from the Ocean Stewardship Council (MSC) as well as the "Friend of the Sea" (Friend of the Sea), the Global Food Safety System Certification IFS/BRC and many others.
In 2018, sapmer Group set up a branch in Shanghai, China, stationed a special person to be responsible for the Business of the Chinese Market and brought new retail packaging products, and the retail packaging products marked with "SAPMER" as the trademark have been launched in 17 OLE boutique supermarkets across the country, and will continue to land in various e-commerce and high-end supermarket channels since then. In order to increase flexibility and be closer to consumer demand, retail-packaged silver cod sold in the Chinese market is slitted and repackaged in domestic processing plants.
The original silver cod circulation market will not change, and will continue to cooperate with importers in the Chinese market. The retail packaging products will be connected to supermarkets and e-commerce for retailing by the Shanghai branch.
In 2019, the French Sapmer launched a new packaging, and the well-known "one fish" pattern will be replaced and replaced by Sapmer's new logo. This is not only for the Chinese market, but also for the new generation of packaging in the global market.
Christopher Talbot, Chief Operating Officer of Sapmer Group, pointed out: "Sapmer has a high reputation among both importers and distributors in China, but we hope that consumers in the global market can remember the Sapmer brand and logo and gradually understand our values and corporate culture. To this end, we have specially redesigned the logo this year, starting from 2019, the products of the new fishing season will adopt new packaging, and the new logo will be used uniformly in large circulation packaging and retail packaging. The original pattern of a fish will be replaced by a new logo, but the overall packaging color will not change significantly, and I hope that Chinese consumers will like it.
The new logo evolves from a sail into a circle designed to evoke a global ecosystem of marine conservation. From another perspective, the sails have transformed into a fish swimming in the ocean world, aiming to convey the sapmer group's belief that since 1947, it has been passed down from generation to generation to generation, "not to be the terminator of marine resources, but a loyal partner in the development of the ocean".
Finally, Mr. Christopher talbot has shown great expectations for the Chinese market: we are very optimistic about the Chinese seafood consumer market and are full of expectations for it. The consumption of silver cod in the Chinese market has brought us a surprise, and we hope that more and more sapmer products can be loved by Chinese consumers in the future, bringing them a healthier and safer and high-quality seafood consumption experience.