Saving Seafood

Record-high king crab prices not slowing retail sales

February 19, 2021 — Crab sales at U.S. retailers have hit record highs, with the category as a whole up over 60 percent, and king crab has been buoyed by the surge.

Customers at the retail level are buying record numbers of king crab, according to Michael Kotok, the president of Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.-based Arctic Fisheries. Kotok was speaking during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference webinar series; SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be providing exclusive market-focused content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Demand up, supply down in blue and red swimming crab market

February 18, 2021 — The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the blue and red swimming crab market are ongoing, and have combined to make the industry a more complicated prospect for importers.

Chicken of the Sea Vice President and National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Crab Council Executive Robert Kragh – speaking during NFI’s Global Seafood Market Conference webinar series – said the impacts of COVID-19 on the market were immediate from a producer perspective. SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be providing exclusive market-focused content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Post-COVID recovery could see spate of seafood company mergers and acquisitions

February 11, 2021 — When the world begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, some prominent seafood executives are predicting a busy period of mergers and acquisitions.

Speaking during the National Fisheries Institute’s 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference’s economic outlook panel, seafood company advisors and CEOs said they expect a combination of factors will lead to increased M&A activity. As companies begin to see a turnaround from the COVID-19-related economic downturn, access to cheap financing could spur companies to look for new opportunities, according to Antarctica Advisors LLC Managing Partner Ignacio Kleiman.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Glenn Cooke, Ian Smith offer timeline for COVID-19 foodservice recovery

February 9, 2021 — The global COVID-19 pandemic has been a mixed bag for the seafood industry, with retailers notching record seafood sales and the category as a whole seeing gains, even as the foodservice industry virtually collapsed.

That downturn is expected to change direction this year, with foodservice operators optimistic about 2021. Seafood company CEOs and advisors, speaking during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference’s economic outlook panel, also expressed optimism about the industry’s recovery. While in the short-term the rebound may be slight, as trend experts have predicted, once relative normalcy returns demand could see a big boost.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New NFI Chair Highlights Market Data and Expert Insights Available at Virtual GSMC

January 25, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The President and CEO of Seattle Fish Co., Derek Figueroa, is the new Chair of the National Fisheries Institute. Figueroa helms the Denver-based seafood distributor that boasts more than a hundred years in business.

“Seattle Fish has a legacy of using technology and engagement to do more in the seafood space,” said Figueroa. “In 1918 this company created a cold chain system that used rail cars, sawdust and ice to transport fresh seafood to the landlocked state of Colorado. We were getting customers what they needed. That’s what NFI is doing with the Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference. We can’t meet in person, but the industry needs the data and insight we’ve come to rely on from GSMC. So we’re doing it virtually.”

The Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference runs from February 1st to the 5th for two hours each day. The GSMC Webinar Series lasts all year with biweekly offerings providing species-specific data and markets focused dialogue. Attendees can register for the GSMC Bundle package here.

Virtual GSMC will feature plenary presentations and sessions on Retail, Food Service, the Economy, Alternative Proteins and more. Keynote speakers from IRI, 210 Analytics, Datassentail, CattleFax, Urner Barry, Rabobank, and Wells Fargo will detail market shocks and recovery timelines. The program will also feature C-suite perspectives from leaders in retailer and foodservice, as well as an address from the man who knows a thing or two about pivoting, Bo Jackson.

As part of his just released video message, Figueroa notes the benefits of a virtual conference and webinar series include the fact that producers recognize, during a pandemic, things change by the “week, by the day, even by the minute.”

Derek Figueroa will address the Virtual GSMC on Friday February 5th with his state of the industry address.

NFI gearing up for virtual Global Seafood Market Conference, webinar series

January 19, 2021 — The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has launched a webinar series intended to provide analysis of the latest trends affecting the global seafood industry.

The largest U.S. seafood trade group began hosting biweekly Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) webinars last week, with a focus on the global shrimp trade, which like most seafood categories, experienced wild fluctuations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC Webinar series, which will be providing comprehensive market content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NFI Announces Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference 2021

December 14, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

This week the National Fisheries Institute announced registration is open for the Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference 2021: Succeeding in the Ever-Changing Seafood Industry, February 1-5, 2021. The virtual GSMC will feature two hours of daily Plenary sessions with industry experts on the markets, economics and consumer insights in the age of COVID-19.

At the same time, NFI also unveiled a year-long GSMC Webinar Series which kicks off on January 13th with the popular GSMC Shrimp Panel. The overarching theme for GSMC Virtual and the Webinar Series is “Succeeding in the Ever-Changing Seafood Industry.”

NFI has bundled the virtual conference and the year-long webinar series and is offering it to members at a value. Non-members will also have the opportunity to register.

“We’ll kick off the Webinar Series with the popular GSMC Shrimp Panel on January 13th; and a few weeks later the virtual GSMC will feature popular experts like Duane Lenz of Cattlefax – and new voices like Bo Jackson of Jackson and Partners,” said NFI’s Senior Vice President, Judy Dashiell. “We will meet in person when it’s safe; but our members rely on GSMC information. We listened and have created a robust program that spans 2021. We are committed to delivering programming with excellent speakers, seamless technology and respect for people who are attending during their workday.”

In addition to this announcement, Dashiell noted that NFI will further expand its 2021 educational programs to include the Future Leader’s Program and the NFI Shrimp School; as well as introducing the NFI Salmon School; NFI Lobster School; and NFI Scallop School.

The Virtual GSMC 2021 and the GSMC Webinar Series are supported by Premiere Sponsor Diversified Communications and Gold Sponsors Baader North America Corporation, Datassential, Foa & Son, IRI, Lineage Logistics, Los Angeles Cold Storage, Rabobank, Urner Barry, Wells Fargo Bank, and Windward Strategies LLC.

Seafood industry decision-makers have trusted GSMC analysis for a decade and in 2021 they’ll have the opportunity to absorb even more of that knowledge without leaving home.

Register by January 7 2021 to receive the Member Early Bird rate; and access the GSMC Shrimp Panel Webinar on January 13th. To register, contact Suzanne Low at slow@nfi.org. And find more information in this video.

NFI moves GSMC 2021 virtual, with in-person event still planned in May

November 24, 2020 — The National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the U.S. seafood industry’s foremost trade group, has announced its 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) will take place online from 1 to 5 February.

The conference, which offers seafood marketplace data to NFI members and doubles as the NFI’s annual meeting, which was originally scheduled to take place in Coronado, California, U.S.A. in January. In July 2020, NFI announced it would be moving the conference to 23 to 28 May, 2021, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NFI Statement on Rescheduling of the 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference

July 30, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has decided to reschedule the 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) from January to May as part of an effort to ensure attendees are able to join this important annual event.

Throughout the ongoing pandemic NFI has produced webinars on everything from COVID-19 market impacts to regulatory changes and value chain alterations. The success of these presentations and the significant attendance illustrate that members of the seafood community are hungry for detailed trend and data analysis, the hallmarks of the annual GSMC. While the digital space is an important platform, hour-long virtual meetings provide a limited experience compared to a full program.

Moving the conference allows NFI to continue to offer this event and provide much needed critical information during a time when there has been so much disruption in the market.

GSMC will be held 23 – 28 May 2021 at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado, California and NFI will provide more details in the coming months.