The professionals of the smoked salmon fear a shortage for the holidays – The Express

will he have smoked salmon at Christmas? The French professionals of the sector are concerned about a possible shortage of food on our plates. Because, they “are facing a crisis exceptional and unprecedented”, said Friday the 27 French SMES involved, grouped under the banner of the ETF (the enterprise of the catering costs), in a press release.

supply disruption, a risk well “real”

the Main concern, the average price of the commodity, which “has jumped from 50% to 60% between 2015 and 2016″, an increase that “is accelerating in recent months, with the growing pressure of world demand for salmon”.

The price of the raw material accounts for “60% to 80% of the cost of production of a smoked salmon”, and these SMES fear for their survival. Some are already in great difficulty” and called on the large-scale distribution. Many brands do not take sufficient account of this “price spikes” in their purchases from SMES in france, is concerned about the grouping.

at the same time, SMES “are now unable to finance their purchases of salmon,” says ETF. A few weeks of the start of the festive season, “the risk of disruptions of supply in the stores is real”.

insufficient production in Norway

This sudden increase of current is due to a “mismatch structural between supply bearish-producing countries and the strong demand in the international market, driven by both markets traditionally consumers that the markets of emerging countries”, according to the release.

In Europe, the production of Norway, in particular, is judged to be insufficient, because of “the willingness of the Norwegian government to limit the number of livestock in order to maintain the environmental balance in the major traditional areas of production”, while Scotland and Ireland “already exploit fully their farm sites”.

The production out of chile, the second largest in the world, “had suffered in early 2016 the ravages of a micro-algae which resulted in a mortality in livestock, which has reduced the prospects of production of 30% on the season 2016-2017, and mechanically is worsening the global shortage in salmon,” says ETF.

France, the first country consumer of Europe

The crisis comes as the France, the second european producer, had returned to its historical levels of consumption (the first country in Europe with 36 900 tons) after a crisis caused in 2013 by a television report very critical of the conditions of farmed fish.

According to ETF, the sector represents more than 2,500 jobs in France, for a turnover of 527 million euros in 2015.