1.1 Presentation and definition of the fish and seafood market

The seafood market covers the fishing, farming and distribution of seafood products. This market is dominated by a few leading wholesalers, who supply the distribution players, whether they are retailers, restaurants or fishmongers.

The global seafood market is expected to grow at a rapid rate of 2.5% per year until 2027, thanks in particular to demand from emerging countries. In France, however, the trend is not the same since if the market is relatively stable, it is thanks to a slight decrease in consumption which is currently compensated by an increase in market value.

The trends on the French market of aquatic products are to put forward the French fishing and breeding (while a large majority of the consumed fish is imported). In addition, there is a willingness tointegrate the growing environmental awareness of consumers and offering more transparency on the origin of products.

The main players on the French market are wholesalers such as PassionFroid or Grand Frais, producers such as Delpierre or Delmas Poissons et Marée and importers such as Davigel and Marine SAS.

1.2 A steadily growing global market despite the brakes on expansion

According to Allied Market Research, the seafood market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately *.*% over the period ****-**** to reach $*** billion.

Globally, the market is benefiting from several factors involving demand growth. Some of the factors driving demand growth include:

The steady increase in the world population,[***]; The ...

1.3 Focus on the European Union

Source: ****

The table above shows which fish are most consumed in the EU; we see that tuna represents the largest share (***) of consumption, and that European citizens consume an average of *.** kg of tuna per year.

On the other hand, the highest sufficiency rate (***), the EU relies on imports from other ...

1.4 A French market in slight growth

The fish market is growing slightly in France with an expected increase every year between **** and ****. In ****, approximately *.** million tons of fish were consumed and the figure is expected to rise to *.** million tons by ****. This represents a growth of *.*% per year between **** and ****.

Seafood Market Volume France, ****-****, in million ...

1.5 France, a net importer of seafood products

While fish consumption is down slightly with ** kg on average per year per person in **** compared to ** kg in ****, the market remains highly dependent on foreign flows. Seafood consumption in France is directly linked to the level of imports.

evolution of foreign trade in aquatic products France, ****-****, in billions of ...

2.1 A slight decrease in fish consumption

In France, average per capita consumption has declined slightly in recent years, from ** kilos in **** to ** kilos in ****. given the growing importance placed on healthy and sustainable foods by the French, one might expect consumers to gradually turn to seafood as a preferred protein choice. However, statistics show that consumers are ...

2.2 Consumer profile

Penetration rate of the different seafood purchase categories France, ****-****, in % Source: ****

The trend that emerges from the above graph is a more or less significant decline in all categories of seafood purchases. The most affected category is frozen products, with a drop of seven points. In the other segments, the ...

2.3 An explosion in demand for seafood at the end of the year

Google Trends QSR : Search for the word "Seafood France, Jan. **** - Jan. ****, in index base *** Source: ****

The graph above represents the proportion of searches for a given term in a given region during a given time period, relative to when it was most searched (***). Thus, a value of ** means that the ...

3.1 Market value chain

In general, the time between the landing of the catch and the delivery of the product to the fishmonger is no more than ** hours. This is enough time to sell the fish in the fish market, to pack it, to prepare it (***), to transport it and to market it.

at each ...

3.2 Geographical distribution of the fishing industry in France

French production is concentrated on certain coasts, particularly on the Breton coast which has the most productive French port in terms of fishing.

Of the ten major French fishing ports, five are located in Brittany, illustrating the importance of this region in the fishing activity. The other important regions are New ...

3.3 Distribution of fish and seafood

The different distribution networks

Breakdown of fresh seafood sales by distribution channel France, ****-****, as a % of total sales Source: ****

Fresh seafood products are overwhelmingly distributed in large and medium-sized stores (***). This rise in power of supermarkets can be explained by the effort made by the brands to offer fishmonger services ...

3.4 A market dynamic in favor of responsible fishing

A fishery that seeks to be responsible

Ensuring responsible fishing is a constant concern of the professionals. They rely on technical progress to limit by-catches and discards as much as possible, to guarantee compliance with minimum catch sizes, the preservation of the seabed and to control fuel consumption For example, fishing ...

3.5 Focus on the food service industry

Distribution of market share of distribution channels on fish and seafood France, ****, in % Source: ****

Restaurants are the most important distribution channel in France, as they generated **% of fish and seafood sales in ****. Seafood purchased, prepared and consumed at home is only third in the ranking with *% of the market in ****.

This ...

4.1 Products and their average price

The prices of the following products are the wholesale prices before tax on **/**/**** of the Rungis market, the reference hall in French food sales.

Source: ****

Generally speaking, there are no rules for fish prices. As fishing is random by nature, there are significant price variations for the same product ...

4.2 An increase in seafood prices

Consumer price index for fish and seafood France, ****-****, index base *** in **** Source: ****

Consumer prices of fish and seafood have increased by about **% since ****. This increase even reached **% in April ****, compared to ****, but prices have fallen again since. This data confirms that the slight growth observed in the aquatic products market ...

4.3 The impact of Brexit on French fisheries

The United Kingdom is the third largest producer of aquatic products in Europe and has a large maritime area. Yet fishing was one of the key issues of the Brexit referendum. Fishermen were largely in favor of Brexit, even in Northern Ireland, where **% of the population voted against.

British waters alone ...

5.1 A mainly European fisheries legislation

The European fisheries policy

Since ****, the Common Fisheries Policy (***) has been responsible for regulating and organizing the entire fisheries sector. Several reforms have been put in place, the latest of which was in January ****.

According to the European Commission, the CFP action extends to four areas:

Fisheries Management; International policy; Markets ...

6.1 Segmentation

6.2 Interview with Mer Conseils

Created under cooperative status by Isabelle Letellier and Hervé Le Creour, the Lorient office Mer Conseils assists professionals in the sector in their certification and quality enhancement processes on board, in auctions as well as in tidal companies.

With their experience and good knowledge of Breton port logics, the salaried cooperators ...