 Alaska Seafood Newsbrief ASMI E-Newsletter for the Alaska Seafood Industry
November 14 , 2006
In this issue:
Message from the Executive Director It has been a busy couple of weeks with the ASMI Board and Committee meetings immediately followed by the China Fishery and Seafood Expo. At the board meeting we showcased our ASMI website to the industry so you could see what a valuable tool we have developed for your use and to help educate our customers. The consensus feed back was very positive and many were surprised at just how much useful information is housed on the site. If you are not taking advantage of this tool you are at a disadvantage to your competition and probably reinventing the wheel. Our revised committee structure is starting to mature and they have a significant influence on board decisions. We will have a number of openings on ASMI specie committees in the coming year so please send in a request with a short resume if you are interested in helping us set the future direction for ASMI. After much discussion at the ASMI Salmon committee, the Board accepted their recommendation to discontinue the in-season salmon price tracking report for the coming year. This was done primarily because the information is being used by buyers to beat down prices which is not consistent with ASMI's mission to increase value. The committee also felt that in the information age most of the information is already easily available to those who want it. ASMI Board did agree to review this action again next fall. The China Fishery and Seafood Expo was quite an experience. Everyone talks about the rapid growth and modernization in China but you really have to go there to appreciate it. While this show is not as big as Brussels or Boston, it was still the largest show in Asia and is growing larger each year. We had a lot of interest in Alaska products, especially King Crab and Black Cod, from Chinese buyers. I also met with U.S. Agricultural Trade Office officials and discussed the developing market in China for Alaska Seafood. All agree this is still an emerging market but has significant potential in future years as trade barriers are reduced. As we develop our international marketing strategy for the coming years I expect China will play a bigger role in our future beyond simply being a reprocessing center. As noted below, ASMI will have a booth at Pacific Marine Expo again this year. Please stop by, help us celebrate our 25th anniversary and let us know how we are doing. All the best, Ray Riutta
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Alaska Seafood Splash at China Fishery and Seafood Expo Alaska Seafood proved popular at the China Fishery and Seafood Expo. Seafood traders were queuing up at the ASMI booth to receive premium quality tasting samples of Alaska black cod, king crab, smoked sockeye salmon and salmon roe, complemented by Alaskan Amber beer donated by the Alaskan Brewing Company. The Expo, now in its eleventh year, drew thousands of seafood trade members from all over Asia to Qingdao. The ASMI booth collected trade leads and dispensed information about Alaska seafood. There is increasing interest among Chinese traders in Alaska's most highly regarded seafood products, and ASMI has been actively cultivating seafood trade relations in China for more than a decade. Photos taken at the Expo of the ASMI booth reveal aspects of the ASMI exhibit, including display samples of wild Alaska Seafood: five species of salmon, three popular species of crab, black cod, and other whitefish varieties. ASMI representatives based in the U.S. and China were on hand to assist visitors to the booth. In addition to the human resources, the exhibit features photographs of Alaska fishermen harvesting the wild catch, moving footage of the fisheries and wildlife of Alaska with Chinese language narration, materials on Alaska Seafood in Chinese language including recipes and supplier information. ASMI also has a Chinese website, in both English and Chinese versions, one of several websites serving international trade through an international gateway page on the internet site.. |
New Recipes for Canned Salmon from Cutting Edge Chef Casey Chef Kathy Casey, known to many in the Northwest for her fresh approach to things culinary, partnered with ASMI to develop some great new canned salmon recipes for consumers, as featured in the ASMI Retail E-Newsletter October-November 2006. If you are entertaining this fall, wow your friends with a hot artichoke dip that includes canned salmon or better yet learn more about chef, author and restaurateur Chef Casey and see the entire list of the new canned salmon recipe selections with links to photographs and easy recipes. |
Visit ASMI at Pacific Marine Expo Fish people from the west coast, particularly harvesters, will school up in Seattle for Pacific Marine Expo November 16, 17 and 18. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, November 16: at 1:45 p.m. there will be a conference session entitled: "Wake Up Call! How Will Alaska’s Seafood Portfolio Perform?" jointly sponsored by Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and United Fishermen of Alaska. Participants include Eric Twickham of the Canadian Sablefish Association, Rich Wolverton of FoodServices of America, Pat Rogan of Cannon Fish (recently of QFC, grocery retailer, in Seattle), and Chris McDowell of the ASMI Seafood Market Information Service operated by McDowell Group. ASMI will be at booth # 517, so if you are there, please come by. Board and committee members needing a VIP pass should contact Laura Fleming via lfleming@alaskaseafood.org. |
ASMI Board and Committees Action and Next Board Meeting A news report this month covered Oregon salmon fishermen's participation in a pilot program using The ASMI Board and operational and species advisory committees met in October to guide the development of promotional plans and budgets for the future. They affirmed plans to continue with a consumer advertising campaign in the United States, a campaign that will include ads in consumer print publications popular with chefs and consumers who like to cook, as well as advertisements on cable television. This campaign and public relations activities support promotion of Alaska Seafood in the retail and foodservice sectors, and further the mission of raising the value of Alaska Seafood. To keep abreast of the meeting schedule, check the website frequently. Alaska Seafood industry members may log on and access resources including the long- range promotional calendar and image library. The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be in Juneau, Alaska, Feb. 12 – 13, 2007. |
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phone: 1-800-478-2903
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