Harvesting Wisdom from Food Export’s Network of Experts

Food Export-Northeast brought in some of its experts to learn and share at the recent Seafood Buyers Mission held in conjunction with Seafood Expo North America.  Throughout the event, they had the chance to meet with suppliers, speak with international buyers and learn from fisheries management specialists.  We asked them to reflect on some insight and wisdom they could offer the Northeast fish and shellfish industry.  

Here’s what they had to say:

Kristie Park, In-Market Representative from South Korea:

Sustainability, certifications and traceability are increasingly important in the Korean market. When meeting with Korean buyers, it is very important that U.S. suppliers should educate them about production, season and quality control processes.

Roger Zhang, In-Market Representative for China and Hong Kong

Suppliers should know that Hong Kong is still on the path to economic recovery and Northeast seafood products such as lobster, oysters and crab still have potential for growth. Hong Kong remains a duty-free port and has not imposed tariffs on US imports. 

Anna Kizirian, In-Market Representative for the Middle East

The Gulf Region buyers and I found the education day to be extremely informative. We had no idea that it takes seven years for a lobster to reach maturity, or about the rigid regulations that have been put in place to ensure sustainability of the lobster fishery. American lobster, sea scallops and oysters are a Gulf favorite and will always be in demand, usually, within the premium foodservice sector due their higher price and quality. However, we learned a lot about products we were less familiar with, such as scup and Jonah crab.  We think these too have potential because their good quality and lower price point will hold appeal in the region.

Alexander Wever, Seafood In-Market Representative for Northern Europe

In this year’s Seafood Buyers Mission, Northeast U.S. suppliers showed the widest range of products ever: not only American lobster, Atlantic sea scallops but also whitefish value-added-product from clams and green crab, conch, soft-shell green crab, processed clam meat, and scup, etc. It was helpful and interesting that the buyers were able to sample some of these products during the educational seminar in advance of meeting with the suppliers making those conversations more fruitful.

Howard Gordon, Food Export-Northeast Branded Program Manager

In speaking with suppliers this year, I observed that they were hungry for knowledge about how they could be using the Branded Program’s cost-share funding to greater advantage for their company.  I had discussions about how the program can help with packaging and labeling expenses, social media influencers, retail and foodservice promotions and developing digital marketing tools. Of particular interest among U.S. suppliers and the buyers who attended the mission alike was the support the program can offer for importers’ marketing expenses, such as foodservice promotions or product demonstrations for an importer’s customers.

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