AUSSIE CAVIAR INDUSTRY GETS ITS DUCKS IN A ROE
DAVID Williams, one of Australia’s prominent agribusiness investment bankers, sees a big future for caviar in Australia – but not until a few sizeable hurdles are overcome.
“(Last year) was all about entrees of yellowtail kingfish but 2023 is all about bringing caviar to a wider audience,” he said.
“The $300 jars with all the condiments have always been off limits to all but the very wealthy; now it’s everywhere in bite-size and affordable dollops.”
But as tastes change and restaurants like Smith Street Bistrot and Mimi’s in Sydney – which has turned caviar into a pie with scallop mousseline and citrus butter — transform the dish, there is a problem: While Australia positioned itself well to capitalise on the kingfish boom, all caviar is imported.
What’s more, beluga sturgeon – which produce the most valuable roe and are primarily found in the Caspian Sea – are critically endangered.
But in Adelaide, a public servant has found a solution. Mehdi Doroudi, chief executive of South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries, has been working with the Commonwealth for the past decade to allow the importation of sturgeon, with a final decision expected soon. Licences, under strict conditions, would follow, which would create Australia’s first homegrown caviar industry.
“It was a huge effort,” said Professor Doroudi. “There are other countries where the sturgeon is not endemic but they import them and grow them in a biosecurity way. And I thought why not here?”
The global caviar market is expected to soar in the next five years, with a compound annual growth rate of 9 per cent, according to Market Data Forecast.
But competition is increasing, with more than half than the world’s commercial caviar farms in China. The cost of production is also high and it takes more than a decade for a fish to reach maturity and harvest the first batches.
“The single biggest issue I see is that sturgeon is like almonds and walnuts, they can take up to 12 years to be caviar mature,” Mr Williams said. “I am not sure capital markets are that patient.”
Australia’s reputation as a clean and green food producer also gives it an advantage.
“There is lots to like about an Australian grown caviar for the export market,” said Mr Williams
“Sturgeon is under threat in certain parts of the northern hemisphere so new ideas to farm it are worth a look.”
One possibility is farming the sturgeon for the meat in the interim.
“It’s not similar to anything that we are familiar with here … it’s not a King George whiting but it’s nice eating, it’s good eating,” he said.
Investors could also gain a greater return from adopting roe harvesting practices that do not involve killing the fish. “That way the fish can continue to reproduce,” Prof Doroudi said of the possibility.