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Fish and Fish Products Market Report 2002
Key Note Publications Ltd, Nov 2002
According to National Statistics, expenditure on fish and fish products for consumption in the home was £2.29bn in 2001, just 3.8% of household expenditure on all food and non-alcoholic drink. This figure includes other product categories, such as speciality fish, pickled fish and other preserved fish beyond the scope of this report. Of this, £1.78bn was accounted for by sales of fresh and chilled, frozen and canned fish, as covered in this report. This represents an increase of 6.9% on the previous year. As in other food sectors, consumers require products that are convenient and good value for money. The growing involvement of grocery multiples ensures a wide choice on specialist counters, in the chiller cabinet, in freezers and on the shelves. Single servings of fish in a sauce sell particularly well and even the canned sector has been able to accommodate this need for convenience, with ring-pull openings, boneless sardines and variants such as fish in mayonnaise or curry, as well as ready-to-eat fish in pouches and snack pots.
Fish is generally perceived to be a healthy food containing protein, minerals and vitamins, while oily fish provides the essential fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which can be beneficial to blood vessels and the brain's nervous system. Some varieties represent extremely good value for money and the UK's fish farming industry (aquaculture) is expanding rapidly in an attempt to meet demand. Nevertheless, the UK is a net importer of fish, not least because some varieties are unavailable in British waters. Leading global suppliers include HJ Heinz Company and Unilever, while a recent casualty of the domestic industry was the Albert Fisher Group PLC, forced into bankruptcy in early 2002. Parts of the Albert Fisher operation were subsequently acquired by Young's Bluecrest Seafoods Ltd and Coldwater Seafood (UK) Ltd.
The fish industry has some unique problems. The supply of fish, and therefore the price, can fluctuate for reasons beyond control, such as extreme weather conditions or a pollution incident. Global fish stocks are diminishing as fishing has become too efficient. Fleets with sophisticated equipment and the increase of deepwater trawling are depleting stocks and it is generally recognised that urgent measures are required. Management of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which is intended to maintain a sustainable yield, has been heavily criticised and it is currently under review. Changes to the management of the CFP will inevitably be at the cost of thousands more jobs in an industry that has recently suffered the decimation of around a fifth of the UK fleet in a £25m decommissioning scheme. Furthermore, 189 nations at the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg agreed a rescue deal to restore seriously depleted stocks by 2015 through further limitations on permissible fishing. Some environmentalists feel that the need for this is far more urgent if some species are to be saved.
There is every indication that UK per capita consumption of fish is increasing and there is potential for it to do so, with the Germans, Dutch and Austrians being the only European counterparts consuming less fish per capita than the British. We anticipate the value of the overall market to show slow but steady growth in the future, with some sectors, including shellfish and chilled ready meals, far outperforming others.
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