(IntraFish) 2011 figures show French consumers are sticking to cod as their second most loved fresh fish. Despite higher prices, French retail sales of fresh cod fell in volume, but rose in value in 2011 -- while sales of the cheaper pangasius dropped both in volume and value, with volumes tumbling by 32 percent.
French consumers bought 17,219 metric tons of fresh cod in 2011, down 4.4 percent from 2010.
However, higher prices meant overall sales were up 2.5 percent to €261.9 million ($347.3 million), according to figures compiled by Europanel and the Norwegian Seafood Council.
The average price of fresh cod was up 7.2 percent to €15.2 ($20.1) per kilo in 2011, NSC said.
Fresh cod is the second most popular fresh fish bought by French households. Its share of the market in 2011 was stable from 2010, accounting for 14.1 percent of total fresh fish sales in volume, and 17 percent in value.
The bulk of this -- 91 percent -- consists of fillets and portions, with only 3.2 percent sold as whole fish.
Sales of pangasius, however, fared much worse in 2011. According to NSC and Europanel figures, French households bought 2,259 metric tons of fresh or defrost pangasius in 2011 -- a 32 percent drop on the previous year.
This was despite the fact that prices rose much less than cod, by 1.9 percent only, to an average of €7.7 ($10.2) per kilo.
Penetration was also down -- some 7.6 percent of French households said tey bought pangasius at least once in 2011, down from 9.5 percent in 2010, NSC said.
In total, pangasius sales in French households were worth €17.3 million ($22.9 million).