Fish and Seafood Market Requirements – Part One

The aggregated effect of what we call “buyer’s requirements” is the most important aspect that govern the entire cycle that sees a certain product getting form the producer to the final consumer. These requirements, as such as they are today, developed over the years and their effect is found on the legislative standards imposed on a certain market, but also on the common practices of the main actors from that particular distribution market. Such is the case for the EU and EFTA fish and seafood market. The “buyer’s requirements” on this particular market have specific legislative requirements imposed by the EU and EFTA legislatures to all food products, but certain specificity can be found amongst these requirements, pieces of legislature that target fishery and seafood products in particular. It is a complex subject and we here, at “Best Food Importers” website, shall dedicate multiple articles to this overall presentation.

A study published by CBI (“Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries”) and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands had these requirements as subject and identified three main categories in which these requirements can be sorted as follows: “sine qua non” – requirements that must be met by any product that wants to enter the fish and seafood market in the European Union, “common” – widespread requirements were are already taken into consideration and implemented by the majority of the fish and seafood distributors and, last but not least, “niche” – specific requirement for the niche segments of the European Union’s fish and seafood distribution market.

The strict conformity to the requirements found in the “sine qua non” guarantees the acceptance of your product on the EU and EFTA fish and seafood market sectors. The next step is getting your product on equal footing with the products of the competition when it comes to the buyer’s requirements on this particular market. This can be achieved by understanding and the implementation of the factors that stem from the “general” category of requirements. The buyers that are interested in particular products can be drawn by conforming with the “niche” category of requirements.

In our following editorial installments, a detailed presentation of each category is to follow, along with considerations for action and advices for the fish and seafood producers that want to become players in these highly competitive and highly legislated markets: European Union and EFTA.

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