Results market survey plaice Jan Willem van der Schans Rik Beukers Jos Smit Presentation EAFE Workshop , Helsinki

Background North Sea Fish Center Improve perspective of Dutch North Sea fisheries  start with plaice Objective market survey Analysis of the Dutch plaice market and to provide insight in the market position of Dutch plaice in UK, Sweden and Germany

Analysis of Dutch plaice market 5 Flatfish industry 3 Substitutes 1 Fleet & auctions 4 Market 2 Potential entrants

1 Fleet & auctions: landings and auction price

1 Fleet & auctions Orientation on sustainable fishing techniques Fuel savings Reduced ecological impact Market orientation is increasing MSC

2 Potential entrants Access to processing market is relatively easy Economies of scale hard to realize Minimizing cost strategy

3 Substitutes Increase of production of farmed fish, which are direct substitutes of plaice: Pangasius Consequence: Flatfish industry shifts to other species Flatfish industry becomes less dependent on plaice

4 Market: plaice exports

4 Market: EU marketshare Plaice is sold as frozen product Small market share in frozen fish market

Current situation Dutch plaice market 5 Flatfish industry Consolidation difficult New species, farmed fish Less dependent on plaice 3 Substitutes Economies of scale farmed fish Explosive increase EU imports pangasius 1 Fleet & auctions Sustainability Fishing techniques How to get higher prices? 4 Market Decreasing exports Mass product in frozen market Opinion of buyers! 2 Potential entrants Access is easy Economies of scale hard to realize Minimizing cost strategy

Results market survey (1) “Do you want to talk with me for an hour about a fish that no one wants to eat?” “Plaice is a grey fish” “Young people are scared to prepare plaice” UK Sweden Germany Retail FoodserviceRetailFoodserviceRetail Wholesale Marketshare? (Euro's) -Fresh +/- 5% -Frozen+/- 4% +/- 2% Plaice consumer? -Older Wealthy ++++ Why plaice? -Traditional Typical flavour %+/- 1%1-2%1-3%+/-1%

Results market survey (2) Differentiaton for plaice in market is difficult “Plaice is a medium/standard fish” “Plaice should be benchmarked with pangasius”

Price plaice fillets is relatively high

Retail prices (Euro/kg) june 2009 NetherlandsGermany Fresh fillets Plaice16.98 Pangasius Frozen fillets natural Plaice Pangasius Pacific plaice Breaded frozen fillets Plaice Pangasius15.90 Pacific plaice16.58 UKSweden Fresh fillets Plaice Pangasius9.24 Frozen fillets natural Plaice Pangasius Breaded frozen fillets Plaice Pangasius

Results market survey (3) “Sales of plaice should not be increased by introducing a premium label, but by using a combination of marketing and price actions” “Premium label with a higher price would not be successful in Germany, for German consumers price is important” “It would be good to have a story for plaice” UK Zweden Duitsland Retail FoodserviceRetailFoodserviceRetail Wholesale Market trends? -sustainability growth consumption +++ Premium label?PossibleNo -recession-small ms. -panga-small ms. Higher price?ActionsMSC 10%MSC 5%Actions

Market perspectives – ‘’experiences’’ for plaice ?

Market perspectives Differentiation with focus on the source is becoming a trend: Real food Producer oriënted retailer (Whole foods market)

Examples – fishermen in the supermarket

Examples: strawberry experiences

Discussion Initiatives from the past can offer a learning process for the future

Thank you for your attention © Wageningen UR