Presently the consumers in Vietnam are hit by the credit crunch but they are having established British varieties as an obscure Asian fish is outselling them which help consumers turn to cheaper varieties. According to a leading supermarket Vietnamese river cobbler is now outselling plaice, lemon sole and sea bass since going on sale at its fish counters 18 months ago — mainly through word of mouth.
It has been reported that in past six months the sales of Vietnamese river cobbler went up by 60 percent, making it one of the fastest growing fish varieties in the UK and a rival to many established British favourites. Experts believe that the main reason behind such surge in popularity is the price — £2 for roughly 300g.
Tesco fish buyer Sam Pearl pointed out that the quality of the fish such as plaice, sea bass and lemon sole, Vietnamese river cobbler is great value as it costs about half as much. He said that due to credit crunch the shoppers are looking around for bargains and this fish not only ticks that box but is also good value because it’s chunky and meatier compared to other flat fish.
It is found that Vietnamese river cobbler is now outselling lemon sole threefold and is also three times as popular as sea bass. Sales are double those of trout and marginally ahead of plaice. Pearl opined that Vietnamese river cobbler has become one of the fastest growing farmed fish in the world so it appears that the trend has just started over here.
