French appetite for Irish seafood holding up well, reports Bord Bia
It also reported a growing demand in France for halal products, foods that are permissible for Muslims to eat or drink under Islamic sharia law.
Finnian O’Luasa, of Bord Bia’s Paris office, said France’s consumption of 443,509 tonnes of seafood amounts to 9% of the 4.8m tonnes caught annually by the EU’s 28 member states.
The EU 28 produce some 1.254m tonnes of seafood through aquaculture, of which France produces 206,909 tonnes, or 16.5%.
“France consumes a wide variety of species covering both shellfish and finfish,” Mr O’Luasa said in the latest edition of ‘FoodAlert’, Bord Bia’s industry publication for Irish food companies.
“The top 10 species purchased fresh for home consumption in France in 2013 were mussels, salmon, oysters, cod, saithe, scallop, whiting, crab, hake, and whelk; 61% of fresh seafood was purchased in supermarkets in France in 2013, compared to 17% in fish shops or markets, and 22% eaten out of home in either commercial or collective catering outlets.”
France has the fifth highest rate of per capita consumption in Europe at 35.4kg per inhabitant a year, compared to an EU average of 23.1kg. The other leading per capita consumption states are Portugal (56.7kg), Spain (43.4 kg), Lithuania (39.8kg), and Finland (35.6kg).
Bord Bia’s report cites recently published data which found that French consumption sales remained relatively stable in value (-0.2%) in 2013 compared to 2012 in spite of a 3% price increase.
“Fresh and frozen categories decreased most, whereas the chilled delicatessen sector remained stable,” Mr O’Luasa said.
“Canned seafood on the other hand increased in value by 6% due to rising prices. As described in an earlier ‘FoodAlert’, the abundance of cod in the Barents sea led to significant price decreases for the species and a consequent rise in volume sales.
“Other whitefish species were also affected by pressure from cod prices; however, promotional effort from the French fisheries federation concentrated on building awareness for species other than cod.”
Meanwhile, Bord Bia also reported that the halal market in France is continuing to experience good growth. France has one of Europe’s largest Muslim populations at an estimated 4.1m people.
“This growth in the halal market is based on the modernisation of product offerings coupled with yearlong promotions across the category,” said Victoria Larragy, who is also based in Bord Bia’s Paris office.
The overall halal market is currently estimated at a value of €5.5bn, with the turnover of the meat delicatessen sector valued at €88.2m (+12% from the beginning of the year), and the turnover of the frozen halal meat sector valued at €33.7m (+6.5%).
“The overall value of the market is in fact higher than the quoted figure as this excludes halal sales in traditional butchers,” noted Ms Larragy. “Xerfi research from 2010 states that 80% of halal meat sales occurred in traditional butchers.”
Bord Bia noted that the number one player in the French halal market is Isla Délice with a market share of 47.1% in the meat delicatessen category, and a market share of 37.9% in frozen halal meat.
Isla Délice’s new products include a ‘croque monsieur’ made with turkey, a microwaveable hot dog, and chicken fingers in breadcrumbs.
“A number of retailers such as Carrefour and Casino (Wassila) have developed their own brand ranges of halal goods to respond to this large and growing market,” Ms Larragy said.
