Consumption of fish is criticized by conservationists. Nevertheless, consumers do not let their appetite be spoiled. In the corona pandemic, fish is more often prepared at home instead of outside the home.
Canned foods such as canned tuna or pickled herrings remain the most popular fish products among consumers in Germany. However, the rush for canned fish has subsided after buying stocks last year.
The Fish Information Center (FIZ) reported on Wednesday in Hamburg that there was a significant drop in sales for the first half of 2021. “Long-term canned fish in particular attracted attention in 2020 through” hamster purchases “and are probably still on the shelves of households,” said FIZ chairman René Stahlhofen.
A year ago, the mouthpiece of the fishing industry even reported “extreme purchases” in the first half of 2020. At that time, in the first months of the corona pandemic, many consumers had been hoarding durable food in addition to toilet paper and soap – for example pasta, rice, flour, ready-made soups and canned fish.
Canned fish such as tuna, canned herring or marinated herring are generally the most popular fish product among consumers with a total market share of 31 percent, followed by frozen fish (23 percent), crustaceans and molluscs (13 percent), fresh fish (12 percent) and smoked fish (11 percent). With a share of 16.4 (previous year: 11.4) percent, tuna in particular was catapulted into second place among the most popular edible fish, behind salmon (17.6 percent) and ahead of Alaska pollock (15.2 percent) ).
The corona lockdowns with long-term closings have shaken up sales in the fishing industry in the past year. “In 2020, the industry had to adjust to a changed purchasing behavior, which led to a shift in demand away from out-of-home consumption and towards high sales and sales of fish and seafood in the food retail sector,” reported the FIZ.
Instead of eating fish in the restaurant, in the canteen or in the snack bar around the corner, significantly more fish was obviously prepared at home: Fish purchases in grocery stores increased by more than 16 percent to 4.7 billion euros last year. This corresponds to an amount of 457,630 tons of fish and seafood, a good 14 percent more than in the previous year.
According to the FIZ, per capita consumption of fish and seafood remained stable in Germany in 2020 at 14.1 kilograms. Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace or WWF have been warning for years that fish should be viewed as a delicacy in the face of overfished seas. However, fish consumption in this country is relatively low compared to, for example, Scandinavian countries or Japan.
For the first half of 2021, the FIZ in Germany continues to assume that fish consumption will be shifted to the home table. Only with the gradual opening of the catering industry and the return of many employees to the offices can be expected that the out-of-home consumption will grow again. “Unless the people in Germany have rediscovered cooking for themselves in the long term.”
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
