Reinforcements of the team, Nutaaq™ cod and prawn-challenges – a year in Royal Greenland UK
In spite of challenges on the prawn-market, 2016 has been another great year for Royal Greenland UK with addition of new, experienced team members across Sales, Logistics and Marketing.
We experienced continued growth with our major foodservice and retail accounts throughout the year and 2016 also saw the launch of our premium cod product line Nutaaq™. Nutaaq™ is Greenlandic for "new" – to denote an exceptional new quality standard for cod, as well as a completely new and innovative production method inspired by salmon farming. Nutaaq® raises the bar of cod quality since all handling, from catch to finished product, is optimised for one purpose: to preserve the quality of freshly-caught fish. The product line was well received in the market, especially among our quality conscious foodservice customers.
The year has been challenging for the prawn market. Supply has been slightly improved compared to 2015, however the size composition has not corresponded to the demand from the market. The supply of large prawns remained low, while we saw increased availability of small and medium sized cold-water prawns. This means that now is a great time to secure good contracts on these smaller count prawns at attractive prices. We expect that the supply and price of the smaller sizes will remain stable throughout 2017, in spite of recent quota cuts in Canada. Quota increases in Greenland will in part make up for the lack of volume from Canada.
As an international group, the acquisition of Quin-Sea Fisheries along with strong sales of shell-on prawns and Snow crab have altogether contributed to a strong year for Royal Greenland.
Whilst we are exploring opportunities with new species such as Greenland halibut, Canadian lobster and Snow crab in 2017, Brexit has caused huge challenges for Royal Greenland UK in the first part of 2017. The UK Sterling weakening against the Danish Kroner has ultimately caused prices to increase across all species. The exchange rate changes daily but in one extreme case we saw a 29% devaluation of the Pound to Kroners compared to pre-Brexit rates. We hope the currency-situation will stabilise during 2017 as the details of Brexit becomes clearer.
We, however, look forward to work with our partners in 2017 and beyond, sharing mutual successes with our North Atlantic species.
Best wishes
Randall Jennings
MD, Royal Greenland UK
