The Coldwater Prawn Industry Petur Bjarnason Fisheries Association of Iceland SAGB annual meeting May 24, 2004
Content of the lecture The status of the coldwater prawn (Pandalus borealis) industry; raw material products processing markets In the lecture I support mostly to imformation from ICPF November 2004
Price important factor In ICPF 2002 Mr. Elliot Morley, Minister of Fisheries pointed out in his opening speach that last 15 years the value of coldwater prawns in the UK market has remained virtually static in spite of much increased in quantity. In the case of c&p prawn that means that producers/sellers getting approximately the same value for 36.000 tons now as for 18.000 tons 15 years ago.
Price important factor (2) The price situation has as expected influenced the developement of the industry greatly. The main actions has been to cut the cost wherever it is possible but increased empazisis on product development and marketing actions are expected to follow.
130,0 120,0 110,0 100,0 90,0 80,0 70,0 60,0 50,0 40,0 Fisheries Association of Iceland Price for c&p prawn from 1986 Index 1986=100 1986 jan 1987 jan 1988 jan 1989 jan 1990 jan 1991 jan 1992 jan 1993 jan 1994 jan 1995 jan 1996 jan 1997 jan 1998 jan 1999 jan 2000 jan 2001 jan 2002 jan 2003 jan
Raw material Fisheries Association of Iceland
Biologi of Pandalus borealis 8 Years 6 4 2 Changes In sex 0 100 200 300 400 500 Depth (m)
Fishing stocks raw material There is a strong relationship between cod and prawn; there is never a strong cod stock and a strong prawn stock at the same time and place.
The catching nations The main catching nations for Pandalus borealis are Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Faroe Islands. Canada is for the time beeing the leader. Historically prawn stock around Greenland is stable, but the size fluctuates in other areas.
USA* 20 000 (20 000) Canada* 159 000 (146 000) Greenland 155 000 (153 000) Iceland 29 000 (35 000) Norway 68 000 (69 000) Faro Isles 14 000 (10 000) Fisheries Association of Iceland Russia 12 000 (14 000) The Baltic states 20 000 (20 000) Catch of cold water prawns in 2003 (2002) * Incl some other species than P. borealis
Outlook for raw material General the stock situation around Canada and Greenland is strong but around Iceland it is poor. The stocks in Barentssea are expected to stay at present level. Catch is usually managed by quotas but since the stock situation in Canada is strong the quota is decided on basis of the marketsituation instead of biology.
Products of Pandalus borealis
Coldwater prawn products Shell-on raw; processed on board vessels Shell-on cooked; processed on board vessels. C&p prawns; processed in land based plants.
Prawn products It is worth pointing out that all shell-on products are produced on board vessels. The share of shell-on products varies very much according to market situation. Usually around 60% of the total catch is processed as c&p in land based factories. Raw material for c&p can be frozen or fresh.
OVERALL MARKET DISTRIBUTION Fisheries Association of Iceland Total catch and products of Pb 2003 TOTAL CATCH 2003 = 450,000 MT Industrial 280,000 mt 62% (93,000 mt cooked and peeled) - Single frozen 129,000 mt (45% ) - Double frozen 151,000 mt (55% ) Cooked shell-on 122,000 mt 27% Raw shell-on 48,000 mt 11%
Processing of coldwater prawns
Improvement in processing The low price of products has forced producers to improve the processing aiming at lowering the cost. Vessels are getting bigger; improved gear technology; improved process technology; improved logistic; increased automation.
Some improvements Increased catch. Increased know how in cooking and freezing. Increased yield (25 to 40%) Less labour intensive.
Typical vessel 1985 Gear modification offshore vessel - 1985 1.500 3.500 Horse power Lenght 40 60 meters Wide 8 12 meters Singel trawle system Avg. Catching 1-2.000 t/year Factory capacity 10-30 t/d
Typical vessel 2002 Gear modification offshore vessel - 2002 4.000 8.500 Horse power Lenght 60 70 meters Wide 14 16 meters Double trawle system (triple) Avg. Catching 2-9.000 t/year Factory capacity 20-70 t/d
Gear modification Gear modifications In the early 90`s the double trawle system was introduced and became the main driver in the catchingcapacity during the the 90`s
Modern processing of cooked peeled Fisheries Association of Iceland shrimp: Separated areas Reception/ thawing Icing /Storing Storage in water bath Cooking Peeling Packaging After freezing Glazing Size grading Freezing Brining Peeling Cleaning Separation Laser/pulsar grading Storage Hand sorting (S. Arason, based on various document from IFL)
Pandalus cleaning - by hand Fisheries Association of Iceland
Pandalus-machine cleaning Fisheries Association of Iceland
Steam cooker for shrimps Fisheries Association of Iceland (3X, 1998)
Markets for coldwater prawns
OVERALL MARKET DISTRIBUTION Raw shell-on markets in 2003 = 48,000 mt Fisheries Association of Iceland 30,000 25,000 56% 20,000 Mtonnes 15,000 10,000 5,000 13% 10% 8% 13% 0 Japan Thailand China Vietnam Other markets
140,000 120,000 100,000 Fisheries Association of Iceland OVERALL MARKET DISTRIBUTION Overall markets by volume and value Tons '000 GBP 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 UK Denmark China USA Japan Sweden Russia Norway Canada Germany France Finland Thailand Vietnam S Korea Other markets Mtonnes and '000 GBP
OVERALL MARKET DISTRIBUTION Mtonnes Cooked shell-on markets in 2003 = 122,000 mt 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 29% China Russia 25% 13% 11% 8% 6% 3% 2% 2% 2% Sweden Norway France S Korea UK Japan Germany Other markets
OVERALL MARKET DISTRIBUTION Cooked and peeled markets in 2003 = 93,000 mt 40,000 35,000 30,000 40% 10,000 mt for re-export Mtonnes 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 17% 12% 6% 5% 4% 4% 2% 9% 0 UK Denmark USA Sweden Canada Norway Germany Finland Other markets
UK market for coldwater prawn
Product developing - marketing In general c&p prawn is a conservative product and has not changed much. Producers have not been clever in product developing or marketing. The retail sector has been the driving force in those fields.
Sales distribution in UK 2003 UK sales channels 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Retail Catering Industrial 0% 2003
Value added products Trends in UK Retail
Value added products Trends in UK Retail
Value added products Trends in UK Retail
Value added products Fisheries Association of Iceland
Thank you Fisheries Association of Iceland