Seafood trader Landshandilin, one of the most experienced Faroese companies in the fresh fish business, continues to make headway in key markets for Atlantic salmon in Eurasia, the Far East and North America, with exports of saithe to Continental Europe in a strong trajectory.
The most significant growth occurred in Russia during 2014 in an international trade environment complicated by sanctions between major powers. Steering clear of political disputes as a non-member of the EU — in the process taking position as sole supplier of fresh Atlantic salmon — the Faroe Islands received a huge boost in demand.
As a recognized player in the salmon business, Landshandilin took orders on an unprecedented level, said managing partner Finn Rasmussen.
“This demand from the Russian market was beyond anything we had seen before and we’ve been in this business for almost 30 years,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “It peaked late last year [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][2014] but is still very strong so we’ve been struggling to keep up with it.”
‘Every corner’
Landshandilin sources most of its seafood from the Faroe Islands, Norway, and Scotland including Shetland.
Mr. Rasmussen added that farmed Atlantic salmon also remains in high demand in Shanghai and elsewhere in China as well as in the U.S., with the West Coast representing the highest rate of growth, with a stable flow of orders meanwhile coming from the more mature markets in the greater Boston area, the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere on the East Coast.
“China has become an increasingly important market for salmon and we receive more and more orders from Shanghai and other large population centers. In America, we’ve seen a surprising level of demand in the last couple of years, especially along the West Coast — we’re dispatching container loads across the Atlantic and to the Far East almost on a daily basis via London Heathrow Airport.”
As for wild caught saithe, the main market is Germany, followed by France and other European countries.
Said Niclas Rasmussen, financial manager and likewise partner in Landshandilin alongside his brother Finn: “Since we were accredited the MSC ecolabel, we’ve seen sales of saithe consolidated with an upward trend, especially in Germany but to a degree in France and elsewhere, too. Apart from that, we have buyers on every continent and ship fresh seafood to virtually every corner of the globe.”[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
