Thai Union enters China consumer market with 'King
Oscar' Brand Lobsters from North America
Thai Union and Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods are now selling lobsters directly to the Chinese market under the King Oscar brand. The distribution channel uses both brick and mortar stores and online retail. The lobsters are available at G-Super supermarket chain and directly through an online store operated by Thai Union. Thai Union plans to grow distribution to more supermarkets and e-commerce platforms.
The Department of Justice has charged Stephen Hodge+a former executive with Chicken of the Sea+ with conspiring to fix the price of canned seafood from 2011 to 2013. Hodge was charged on May 30 through a "criminal information," a type of charging document prosecutors tend to use in connection with people who are negotiating plea deals.StarKist said in a statement that Hodge had worked for the company but left in December 2013. "StarKist has cooperated and is continuing to fully cooperate with the investigation," StarKist said.
In other news, the most current DFO quota reports, covering to near the end of May, show that Gulf snow crab landings in New Brunswick and Quebec are outpacing Newfoundland. In the Gulf, out of a 39,000 ton quota, about 65 percent has been landed, and it looks likely the quota will be caught by the end of the season at the end of June writes John Sackton. In Newfoundland, for all NAFO divisions which include also the fishing areas outside of 200 miles, the total quota is 35,000 tons of which 38% has been taken as of May 31st.
Meanwhile, Indian seafood imports now account for over 25% of Vietnam's imported market according to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report. This makes India far and away Vietnam's top seafood supplier. In the last two years, India has become a key shrimp supplier to the Vietnamese market.
Finally, filth is still the top reason for the FDA’s seafood refusals in 2017 but the administration is refusing far less seafood this year compared to 2016 levels. In May, the FDA’s seafood refusals were down 40 percent compared to the same time last year. It appears the FDA is detecting less filth in these species compared to a year ago with refusals for filth down 52 percent from a year ago.
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