Seafood Supply Chains Archives

Supply chain being hit by shipping woes, but still improved over pandemic

January 23, 2024 — Supply chain challenges in both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal are having an impact on global trade, but the impact on cargo rates and the seafood industry is still less than it was during the heights of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A panel of experts, speaking during the Global Seafood Market Conference in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., said the ongoing struggles for both pivotal trade routes have had a lower impact on the container industry than what happened during the pandemic, when high material and transport rates caused costs to jump.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Inflation, supply-chain issues still shaping seafood consumption trends in 2023

March 14, 2023 — Economic obstacles related to record-high inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic have left seafood suppliers, retailers, and foodservice operators contending with labor shortages and a myriad of other supply-chain hurdles. Consumers, too, are feling the pressure as they continue to grapple with rising food and energy prices.

All told, Americans’ seafood purchasing habits have been undeniably altered over the past year, FMI – The Food Industry Association Vice President of Fresh Foods Rick Stein told SeafoodSource.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US supply-chain situation improving, but still volatile

March 13, 2023 — Almost exactly one year ago, Lineage Logistics Senior Vice President Brian Beattie painted a relatively grim picture of the state of cold storage from the perspective of the seafood industry: labor shortages, high energy costs, and abnormally high demand meant storage was both hard to find and came at a premium cost.

The story isn’t quite as grim as it once was, but Beattie told SeafoodSource during the 2023 Seafood Expo North America – running from 12 to 14 March in Boston, Massachusetts – that it isn’t a fairy tale either.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Pollock could see big price increases as supplies drop amidst high demand

February 2, 2022 — Experts are predicting a sharp rise in the price of pollock in 2022, with expected strong demand hitting up against supply chain complications and a smaller global harvest.

The global pollock supply is facing its first “meaningful” reduction in supply since around 2008, according to a panel at the National Fisheries Institute’s 2022 Global Seafood Market Conference, which took place 18 to 20 January. Globally, the pollock catch total will decline from 3.49 million metric tons (MT) to 3.22 million MT in 2022, according to the panel. In the U.S., the total allowable catch for Alaska pollock has been set at 1.24 million MT, down 189,000 MT from 2021.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

VIDEO RELEASE: How Supply Chain Challenges Impact Seafood

December 1, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The National Fisheries Institute has developed a new 90 second video that illustrates many of the supply chain challenges the seafood community is facing and how the current “fixes” don’t actually fix the problems. In fact, in some cases they make things worse. Watch the Video here and or find it on the front page of AboutSeafood.com

World’s largest seafood companies ramp up commitment to sustainable seafood movement

October 27, 2021 — During its annual CEO meeting, SeaBOS companies reaffirmed commitments to leading the way on improving the sustainability of seafood throughout the supply chain.

SeaBOS companies represent over 10 percent of the world’s seafood production and have more than 600 subsidiary companies. SeaBOS members include 10 of the largest seafood companies in the world: Maruha Nichiro Corporation, Nissui, Thai Union, Mowi, Dongwon Industries, Cermaq, Cargill Aqua Nutrition, Nutreco/Skretting, CP Foods, and Kyokuyo.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

To create sustainable seafood industries, the United States needs a better accounting of imports and exports

May 28, 2019 — Global seafood trade nearly doubled in recent decades, fueled by decreasing transportation costs, advances in preservation and processing technologies, and open trade policies and is now among the most highly traded commodities. The United States is currently the world’s top seafood importer and among the top five exporters. It is often quoted that 90% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported, implying only 10% is of domestic origin. Over the past decade, this statistic has been widely shared and highlighted with more than 60 news articles quoting it annually since 2014, and it is increasingly used to support proposed policy changes. In recent years, the former US Secretary of State, current US Secretary of Commerce, and members of Congress have all cited the number to call for new policy measures addressing seafood sustainability and dependence on foreign seafood.

However, we argue that far more than 10%, likely 35–38%, of seafood consumed in the United States is of domestic origin. Precise estimates are difficult because of complex supply chains: for instance, some seafood caught in the United States is exported for processing and imported again under a different trade code for consumption in the United States. Such globalized supply chains are commonplace with many products relying on numerous foreign inputs and crossing international borders multiple times. For example, beef production between the United States and Mexico can involve multiple exchanges of calves, adults, and final products. These counterintuitive patterns are created by low tariffs and transportation costs that allow producers to optimize for favorable interest rates and low production costs across supply chains, keeping prices low for US consumers of beef, seafood, and countless other products.

Unfortunately, a dark cloud looms over seafood trade as tariffs recently imposed by the United States and retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other countries hit US seafood exporters and importers, resulting in higher seafood prices for US consumers. Accounting for the realities of globalized supply chains is not only needed for better statistics that support evidence-based policy but is also key to supporting the US seafood industry, achieving sustainable production, and meeting consumer demand.

Read the full story from the National Academy of Sciences at Medium