FNB News - “Marine, fish industry may reach Rs 67,800 cr by 2015”

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INTERVIEW

“Marine, fish industry may reach Rs 67,800 cr by 2015”

Monday, 08 September, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Pescafresh, a seafood brand from the stables of Ace Seafood Bazaar Pvt. Ltd, is said to be India's first in organised seafood distribution and retail - delivering 100% fresh and customised seafood to the doorstep of the consumer. The company supplies seafood 365 days a year irrespective of seasonal vagaries. There products are in compliance with FSSAI, HACCP, GMP and SSOP guidelines.

Sangram Sawant, CEO & founder, Ace Seafood Bazaar Pvt. Ltd, delves deeper into issues pertaining to the Indian seafood market such as growth, price hike and FDI, apart from throwing light on his company and its products, in an interaction with Harcha Bhaskar. Excerpts:

What are the varieties of seafood products offered by your company? From where are they procured?
PescaFresh is India's first organised fresh seafood distribution and retailing company which has ushered a unique concept of delivery of 100% fresh and customised seafood to the doorstep of the seafood consumer 365 days a year irrespective of seasonal vagaries. With the advent of this service, seafood aficionados are able to discover a world of seafood delicacies with the convenience of a simple phone call.

Seafood products offered by the company are as follows:

Seawater fish like pomfret, surmai, rawas, shark, anchovy/mandeli, Bombay duck, seabass, bhangda, mullets, boi, and lady fish
Freshwater fish like cutla, rohu, pabda, white fish, hilsa/bhing/palla, and tilapia
World seafood like pink salmon, Asian sea bass, Indian basa, red snapper, mahi mahi, and tuna whole
Shellfish like mud crabs, pink/brown prawns, rock lobsters, sea crabs, and tiger prawns
Exotic seafood like clams, mussels, octopus, oysters, and squids

We source fresh fish from around the world, however, domestic seafood is procured from east coast and the west coast apart from fresh water sources. This month, PescaFresh will make Scottish salmons available to you at your doorstep. You would also be able to order Norwegian halibut, cod, scallops, mussels and so on shortly.

What are the various regulations to be followed for procurement, processing, packaging and dispatch?
Through superior supply chain management we source only fresh seafood, from more than 30 sources around India. During the monsoon, we source only from places on the east coast, which have already completed their monsoon and hence are open for fishing. When fishing is not allowed on the east coast, we only supply from the west coast.

Our mantra of "Shore to Door" ensures that our products are 100% fresh and of superior quality than any available in the domestic market. This is achieved by a team of expert professionals who inspect the seafood at every stage from supply to delivery. We follow the highest quality & hygiene standards and are compliant with FSSAI guidelines and are in the process of being HACCP compliant for our facilities.

Pescafresh believes in a saying "Be Fishetarian, Stay Healthy.”

What is the regular shelf life of seafood? What are the preservatives added to serve fresh to consumer? What is the renewed shelf life of the product?
A detailed perishability analysis is carried out by the PescaFresh QC on various products, typically if product is maintained at temperatures between 1 - 4 degree Celsius with adequate ice ratio of 1:1.

A fresh catch stays fresh for one week. However, with superior inventory management system, we ensure that we provide the day’s catch to the consumer. PescaFresh does not add any ingredient or preservatives to the seafood. Each catch is maintained at optimum temperatures over beds of ice to maintain our freshness proposition of ‘From Shore to Door’ every single day.

What type of packaging is used for your products? How safe are they for your product?
Exclusive seafood EPS (expandable polystyrene) boxes have been designed by the team at PescaFresh and specialised moulds have been created with optimum boxes size after extensive study and market research. The fish is packed into these boxes by correctly wrapping the product into food grade polythene with sufficient quantity of ice. This packaging keeps the product fresh, in optimum condition, even if deliveries are over a longer distance which helps maintain the product temperature at below 4 degree Celsius minus any contamination. The key advantage is that the freshness is preserved, storage in the chiller or at home refrigerators becomes easier and you can carry your favourite seafood with you even during long hauls without worrying about any dripping or hygienic condition. Fresh seafood is also neatly packed at the shop-in-shop (SIS) counters of organised retail in food grade Styrofoam trays. Effective chilling is quintessential for keeping its flavours intact. Good quality fish needs almost nothing to let the flavours flood out. A little butter or oil with a pinch of salt and pepper does the trick.

What is the USP of your product, what makes them different from your competitors? How is the price point of the product taken care of?
Unmatched infrastructure to deliver the assured freshness: PescaFresh is India’s first organised fresh seafood distribution and retailing company. PescaFresh brand is a registered trademark. It is Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approved and follows Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. PescaFresh pioneered usage of EPS moulded boxes for usage in seafood retailing in India. We have implemented a customised CRM/ERP for fresh seafood retailing needs. We have top of the class infrastructure to handle and serve fresh seafood of the highest quality. PescaFresh is the first organised fresh seafood retailer to have presence in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

We are India’s first fresh seafood brand offering fresh & hygienic seafood cut & cleaned as per the consumers’ requirement packaged in world class packaging at the doorstep.

Is your company into exports? If yes to which country and for which product?
PescaFresh is not into export of seafood. Our business line caters only to domestic market and import special variety from around the world.

Who are your prominent clients and for which product?
PescaFresh, recognised by leading food critics, is servicing over 20,000 households in Mumbai through their home delivery centres. PescaFresh has entered into front-end retail through SIS arrangements with India’s leading retail brands, including Aditya Birla Retail Ltd’s More, Godrej’s Nature’s Basket, Future Group’s Foodhall and Big Bazaar and Tata Trent’s Gourmet West, have allowed us to enter Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The home delivery of PescaFresh would be extended to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune in the near future.

What are your views on 100% FDI in food processing, meat and seafood industry?
FDI is definitely welcome if invested well, especially to back supply chain. With objective of sharing knowledge and infrastructure of new methods of aqua farming and supply chain linkages which can be taught to the fishing community, then FDI will go a long way in ensuring reduced levels of wastage and more yields to the fishermen community. FDI must be allowed in seafood industry to harness new technologies, set up efficient cold chain systems and shrink the farm to fork supply chain.

It is noted during monsoon the consumption of seafood decreases than other season. What are the possible reasons for it and how it can be overcome?
Consuming fish in monsoon decreases for the sole purpose of substandard product and quality fish being found in the market, typically frozen, then thawed, past their expiry dates and this has been happening in India for decades together and continues to happen.

This can be changed by more awareness amongst consumers in programmes such as ”Know your supplier.”

Important questions need to be asked to your supplier:

Where is the catch from?
Which species are generally found in east coast? How is the transport and supply chain linkage? Is there any quality standard being maintained?
Certification of the quality if any? Is there a quality guarantee to the consumer?
Are there traceability standards being followed? Are the products being labelled accurately by origin of coast?

If you are a seafood lover, the monsoons can be a very testing time indeed with erratic supplies and poor quality fish, almost always not fresh. As a seafood lover, the magic of the monsoons seems incomplete without your favourite food. Why should the rains prevent you from enjoying what you love? Why should quality and freshness be compromised during the monsoons?
It is key to know your supplier and the source of his/her seafood. The monsoon is a period when fishing is typically banned on the west coast of India - from Gujarat all the way down the Konkan belt to Goa. During the monsoon months, PescaFresh, India’s leading fresh seafood brand, sources seafood from the east coast of India, which is not affected by the monsoon.

Cold storage is one common problem for entrepreneurs and consumers. How do you take care of cold storage for your product and what would you advice retailers and consumers in this regard?
From farm to fork or shore to door, fresh seafood must be maintained in temperatures of 1 - 4 degree Celsius. At PescaFresh, we have state-of-the-art chillers at our distribution centres. Usage of adequate ice and refrigeration during transport and packaging in thermocol box ensures a high quality product.

Currently how big is the seafood industry in India? At what rate is it growing?
India is the second largest fish producer in the world after China and accounts for nearly 6% of global fish production. As per Assocham, fish industry in India is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 7%. India's marine and fish industry is likely to reach Rs 67,800 crore by 2015 from the current level of nearly Rs 53,000 crore.

India plans to ramp up the value of its seafood exports to $10 billion by 2020, following a 30% year-on-year sales value growth in 2013. Nearly 30% of marine and fish produced domestically are exported annually. India's seafood exports recently crossed the one million tonne mark for the first time in history, clearly indicating calibrated growth of the marine exports in the country. While many factors have contributed to this growth, quality assurance is one aspect that has progressively grown in precedence in the past decade. Seafood exporters are therefore increasingly seeking international third party quality assurance providers to improve the global acceptance of their consignments.

Seafood products are witnessing constant price hike. What are the various reasons for the same?
A burgeoning consumption class and increasing income has ensured an upward movement in per capita consumption of seafood and this is slated to further grow as the country progresses economically. The wild caught or sea catch cannot keep up with the demand from the domestic industry, hence, the prices are on an upward rise. The silver lining is the advent of aquaculture, however, this needs to be done in a sustainable manner and more species should be made inclusive.

Seafood lovers had to cough up extra bucks for their favourite dishes this summer with fishing ban paving way for steep price hike in the retail markets. With the 45-day fishing ban on mechanised trawls and boats from April 15 across the state coast, seafood items had become scarce on the menu. Restriction on fishing was imposed to allow breeding and multiplying of fish population. This was aimed in the greater interest of fishermen, as this would lead to a larger yield in the coming months.

Growth in total fish and seafood volume sales in 2013 was down substantially on 2012, and also well below the review period CAGR. This was mainly due to price hikes arising from production shortfalls. These shortfalls were in turn attributable to unfavourable weather conditions such as untimely monsoons and floods, which hampered production in several regions. Nonetheless, demand in the category remained reasonably robust overall thanks to the strong tradition of fish and seafood consumption in India.