French importer Comptoirs Oceaniques has announced to raise its purchases and sales of superfrozen tuna as the demand for more frozen tuna is on high. Jean-Luc Meklemberg, who heads Comptoirs Oceaniques’ site in Boulogne-sur-mer, northern France, said that frozen tuna is far more ecological than air-freighted fresh tuna. He said that the company sell quality frozen tuna under the ‘Fish Is Life’ brand, only buys tuna frozen at minus 60 degrees.
According to Meklemberg the main aim of the company is to increase its sales to the retail segment. He added that defrost tuna allows us to negotiate on price and quality in advance, something that is impossible with fresh produce due to the important price fluctuations and to the risk of a lack of product due to the hazards linked to fishing.
Meklemberg informed that much of the €25 million ($35.3 million) turnover company’s sales are made in the foodservice segment, and particularly Japanese restaurants. He told that there is a definite growth opportunity for becoming a high-end supplier to retailers. The company want to concentrate more on quality than low-cost and at the same time it try to maintain a very good quality-price ratio.
Today, Comptoirs Oceaniques buys around 1,200 metric tons of fresh tuna a year — mainly from the Indian Ocean — compared to only 350 metric tons of superfrozen tuna, mainly from Ecuador and the Pacific. The company does not freeze its own tuna, but buy it from specialized suppliers.
