April 16, 2007

 

Canada's shrimp industry in troubled waters

 

 

In an effort to protect jobs in struggling processing plants, provincial governments in Canada have required all shrimps caught domestically to be cooked before being sold.

 

This was greeted with howls of protest from shrimp retailers who said that consumers would shun such shrimp.

 

Calling it an idiotic move, Geoff Vivian, owner of Lapointe Fish Ltd., one of Ottawa's largest seafood retailers said the requirement would slash demand.

 

He added that processed shrimps would not find favour in export markets such as China, which accounts for half of the shrimp market in the Newfoundland province.

 

The company is now ordering raw shrimp from the US state of Maine because of the regulations.

 

Canada's seafood industry was worth US$255-million in 2005.

 

However, values have been dropping due to lower demand even as the catches have tripled in the last decade. As a result, fishermen have been running their businesses at a loss in recent years.

 

Canadian processors are trying to maintain its share of an ever-shrinking market.

 

Even at prices cheaper than foreign shrimp, due to poor marketing, Canadian shrimps often end up as salad shrimp compared with imported shrimp which proudly states their country of origin.

 

In taste tests, most consumers found Canadian shrimp too salty compared to the tiger shrimps from Thailand.

 

However, industry experts said the Japanese, Spanish and other Europeans -- all prefer the Canadian shrimp.

 

Experts maintained that Canadians preferred the sauce rather than the shrimp. The Canadian shrimp, they said, does not require dipping in sauce due to its sweeter taste. Poor marketing is causing lost opportunities, they said.