Live Fish Wholesalers

[Earthan Group]

Hi Guys,

Was not sure where to put this. It relates to commercial operations but it is also useful information...

Anyways, I visited one of the largest live fish wholesalers last week in NSW and did a small write up on my site about it.

For those interested check the link below.

http://www.earthangroup.com.au/live-...lesalers/2230/

I think in light of people considering niche type of markets, there may be scope to supply through these types of operators.

It would be interesting to hear from other members around the world if they have had experience with these types of wholesalers.

Regards
Paul

[phri]

Hi Paul,

I am sure you are aware of this,
While not aquaponics but aquaculture, virtually no RAS farmer sells his/her fish trough the auction system, be it in Sydney/Melbourne or Brisbane. I will be very hard to compete with the stuff out of fisheries which go's over the auction floors. Niche markets are there and typical found in the parts of town, where people are willing to pay a premium price for a premium product; real fresh fish. i worked with a number of these type of wholesalers and in my experience they are far more easy to work with then supplying local restaurants directly (excuse my language but many chefs are ****heads).
Issue can be that small suppliers undercut the price by offering their whole annual product in one hit for lower then current market prices, and by doing that do nobody a favor.

btw if you want to sell fish you need at least an aquaculture permit.

[Earthan Group]

Hi phri,

Some do sell through on the floor...

The point I suppose is directed at those thinking about aquaponics as a commercial option. Many being discussed are generally very small fish systems which in my opinion will be far too small to be able to sell through these wholesalers and direct to restaurants will be quite difficult without a coop or some form of distribution channels be it someone like QFF or you in and van drivng around town.

The other side to the coin, not including licensing is the processing permits required if you plan to value add onsite or sell a dead product on ice to retail. Live product simplifies that. I think there is a bit of fear about growing larger volumes of fish in these ventures which I think puts them at more risk. Understanding there are avenues in which to off load your product at reasonable prices can be handy.

While not a complete plan for those thinking about commercial operations, just a little info that can not go astray...

Regards
Paul

[phri]

YES,

For those of you based in Victoria, we have Primesafe here. This is a government agency with suppose to safeguard food quality. If you want to sell fish, they most likely going to give you a hard time if you intend to do anything on onsite processing of fish. For the other states you going to get this too, the introduction is just a bit slower then in Vic.

[Earthan Group]

The introduction of Primesafe to aquaculture and the additional costs to farmers, especially the live crayfish farmers was devistating to say the least. Prior to their introduction there were about 65 yabbie farms of various production size with a majority of them primary producers with ponds doing a little grow out. After Primesafe the introduction of the manditory auditing process for a live product, there were around 3 left within a year. Not one of the better things I have seen in aquaculture. Their website tends to give you an idea how supportive of industry they are.

They are not the only confusing state...

[GaryD]

Hi,

The Safe Food legislation in the various states, and the costs that it imposes on producers, makes live fish marketing all the more important for those fish farmers who can't justify the expense.

If the buyer sees the circumstances in which the fish are raised then live fish becomes its own guarantee of product quality.......and no other interference or paperwork should be required.

I'm all in favour of protecting the public from bad food but, if what I see in supermarkets is any guide, it doesn't work quite the way it should. What it does do (and I'm not sure that this is not part of the grand plan), is to act as a barrier to entry to small producers.

Gary