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3-Minute Market Insight

EP 485 | AIRED 04/27/2020

COVID-19 Foodservice Update, A Seafood Purchasing Update, and Buyer's Advice

April 27th, 2020 --- In this week's episode we provide a COVID-19 update on the foodservice industry, an update on what seafood is being purchased, and advice on what product you should be stocking in reserve right now as a Seafood Buyer.

--- Amidst foodservice companies adapting to change by launching consumer direct grocery services (like Sysco Canada's newest launch "Sysco at Home"), could the reality of dine-in restaurant services opening back up actually be in our near future?

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Although Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's plan for dine-in services to resume as early as April 27 was met with some backlash, a recent public health briefing from Canada might be the light in the tunnel we've been waiting to see.

Getting back to work is something that we're all looking forward to.

Now is the time to start thinking about how do we do this safely, with our precautions in place and making sure we have those in-place to protect those who are most likely to have severe illness from this disease.

There needs to be guidance that we are putting out, that talks about how do we best protect the safety of those of who are working.

Canada Health Statement

So within those parameters of how we make sure that we're not setting up a situation where we're going to have lots of contact between people that will then allow for spread in our community.

Those are the things that are most important and you know I talked about this yesterday with the restaurant industry, I'm looking to industry to say how can we do that within those parameters for the coming months.

Recognizing this is not forever, this is just until we reach a point where can get back to a much more normal and that has to do with the amount of immunity in our population and the behavior of the virus over time.

So we've said it before, a lot of it depends on having a vaccine and that's what's going to protect us the most.

But between now and then there's ways we can open up our communities, open up our businesses and still maintain that important safety factor that protects us all.

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2019 Sustainability Report

--- Moving onto an update on what seafood is moving in this current market.

Sockeye continues to be sought after by consumers, we are hearing that retail supermarket sales are strong and companies are stocking up on supply - due to speculation of a limited 2020 sockeye season.

Inventories of 2019 Sockeye are getting depleted and the 2020 season is still not yet fully organized and as Norman Van Vactor, Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation put it "A best-case scenario is seemingly reduced production" when referencing the 2020 Alaska Salmon Fishery.

Our Recommendation here is that now is definitely the time to stock up on 2019 product that is still available and book in your orders for 2020.

Pacific Halibut Update

--- Moving onto Halibut again this week and it's no surpise to see that fresh sales of Halibut are few and far between.

Fresh Halibut sales are typically dominated by foodservice and besides some major chains promoting fresh Halibut, consumers are just not purchasing this premium product right now which has caused processors to freeze Halibut earlier in the season than usual.

However, when one door closes, another door opens.

In some parts of the nation, we may see dine-in restaurant services resume sooner than expected in what health officials are calling the "New Normal".

As new season Halibut continues to be harvested and put into freezers, now is the time to stock up on Halibut and at fantastic prices.

Our recommendation here is to talk to your Tradex Foods Representative to plan out a Halibut Program for your business.

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