Processed Seafood Is About To Become Big Business

Processed seafood has been growing since the past many years, but with the technology advancement, seafood processing is refined and has an increase in shelf life. The seafood obtained through the wide fish farming sector raised by aquaculture or re-circulating tanks or obtained from freshwater lakes, rivers, and ocean waters.

The per capita consumption of processed seafood stood at 21.7 kg in 2017 contributed by major countries such as China, U.S.A., and more. Aquaculture is growing at a rate of 8.6% annually and has a positive impact on the processed seafood market from the supply of shrimp, fishes, shellfish, etc. Instead of seafood consumption limited to regions having fish cultivation, the developed transportation services have extended the supply of processed seafood to faraway countries in the developed nations. There are 385 major fish processing sites in Europe, and it has decreased by 32.1% over the past decade, on account of the environmental concerns on the fish culture.

There is a rising trend of innovating new methods of fishing and its processing, in order to meet the large demand for protein-rich seafood all over the world. The seafood consumption is expected to increase by 19.2% by 2025. The event Fish 2.0 has helped the fishing industry to rebuild the capacity and grow the sustainable seafood sector.

The major driving factor for the growth of the processed seafood market is the inclination of the people towards protein-rich and ready-to-eat food in their diet. Processed seafood accounts for vitamin B12, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and others, which also medically recommended owing to its benefits such as keeps low cholesterol level, fights cancer, and tumor among others.

How could Global Processed Seafood Market Address the COVID-19 concern?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is affecting industries worldwide, and seafood is no exception. With high anxiety and fear surrounding the virus, misinformation can spread quickly as everyone tries to make sense of a rapid change of lifestyle but there is no evidence suggesting that the coronavirus can be spread through food products or food packaging. Further, according to the World Health Organization, there have been no confirmed animal sources of COVID-19.

But still the coronavirus pandemic is affecting seafood retailers, fishers and fish farmers. The increased health and safety measured affect seafood supply chains and many seafood suppliers are looking for alternative markets. Import restrictions and lockdowns in Italy, France, and Spain are taking a toll on local fishers and seafood suppliers, and consumer buying behaviors are also shifting. Online orders of frozen and processed fish are much higher now that many are avoiding fresh fish entirely and opting to stay home over visiting the markets.