Farmer to add value to cod
THE acquisition of white fish companies Havfisk, Norway’s largest trawler owner, and Norway Seafoods by Leroy last summer has made the giant salmon farmer the largest cod producer in the country.
Knut Hallvard Leroy told the DNB/Fish Pool seminar in Brussels on the eve of Seafood Expo that his firm now ‘had a mission with cod’.
This involves modernising cod processing along the lines of the salmon industry by investing in technology – ‘we believe we can increase its value’, said Leroy.
He said they are at the start of this journey, and have recently integrated the companies’ resources, after acquiring some 1,000 new employees and an extra 100,000 tonnes of fish, which includes saithe and haddock.
There were challenges ahead, such as the very short cod season, the high cost of labour compared to lower cost producers in Eastern Europe and China, the political framework, and the lack of technological innovation.
But Leroy promised more white fish products and brands, a reduction in manual labour, increased product value and improved product quality, on top of the Leroy sales and distribution network.
‘There hasn’t been much cod product development but we can use salmon ideas for cod maybe,’ he said, mentioning as examples sushi and ‘poke’, a Hawaiian inspired marinated fish salad launched by the company this year.
Later, Knut Hallvard Leroy told Fish Farmer that all salmon producers, having made big profits, were looking for new opportunities but there was limited scope for growth. It made sense, therefore, to look elsewhere.
Some firms have invested in Iceland but his group has decided to move into white fish.
‘Norwegian cod stocks have been well managed and are healthy,’ he said. ‘We know we’ll have annual differences in growth but we’re at peak cod now.’
And he agreed it was an advantage to have control over the fishery, as Norway does, being outside the EU and the Common Fisheries Policy.
We can use salmon ideas for maybe”