Consumption
Increasing demand for seafood
Global demand for seafood is increasing as a result of population growth and a rise in average consumption per person. However, the increase in demand is not supported by the state of the world's fisheries stocks, which it would appear have little capacity to increase sustainable yields.
According to UN FAO, aquaculture now provides over half of the global supply of fish used annually for human consumption.
In western countries, consumption has been strongly driven by the attraction of fish as a convenient and enjoyable, highly nutritious food and by the widely recognised health benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in oil-rich fish, such as salmon.
Recent market analysis has shown that farmed salmon is now one of the UK’s most popular dishes. It features on 53% of restaurant menus, second only to grilled chicken at 60%.
Likewise, retail sales for 2008-09 indicate that on a value basis salmon is the UK’s best selling fish, outperforming all traditional favourites. Sales values of salmon were 1.7 times those of tuna; twice those of cod; 3 times of those of haddock; and 14 times of those of trout.
Salmon is in high demand not only in fresh and smoked formats but also as an ingredient in over 60 manufactured fish products – and its versatility as an ingredient means that this list will continue to increase.
Growth in the UK salmon market:
o Over the last two years an additional 1.5 million people have consumed fresh salmon within the home
o The growth in additional consumers for fresh salmon within the home has been universal with an additional +400K children, +500K men and +600K women
o There has been an additional 58 million meal occasions of fresh salmon consumed within the home over the past two years (Nov 07 – Nov 09)
o Health has been the primary driver behind 16 million additional eating occasions within the home
o People have consumed more fresh salmon because it is “their favourite” on 14 million eating occasions within the home
o Salmon accounts for just over £1 in every £5 spent on fish in the UK
o Smoked salmon accounts for 5% of total fish spend
o Fresh and frozen salmon accounts for 17% of total fish spend
o 48% of grocery shoppers bought fresh salmon at least once during 2009
Source: Kantar Worldpanel Usage, 52 w/e to November 2009 and w/e to 27th December 2009