“Fresh foods carry the health halo with them, versus processed foods. It doesn’t matter what country you go to: fresh foods will always have those attributes,” Steve Lutz, Nielsen Perishables Group executive VP of told SeafoodSource.
In the Asia-Pacific region, fresh foods make up 60 percent of shoppers’ grocery shopping budgets and in Europe, fresh foods account for 53 percent of shoppers’ budgets, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Fresh Foods report. In the U.S. and Latin America, fresh foods account for much less of shoppers’ baskets: 30 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
“In the U.S., consumers shop less frequently [than in Asia and Europe]. Because they are willing to drive further and make fewer shopping trips, those things work against fresh,” Lutz said. At the same time, fresh seafood sales are on the rise in the U.S. While beef, poultry, and pork volume all fell in 2012, fresh seafood volume rose 2.5 percent, according to Nielsen.
According to the study, when buying fresh seafood, North American shoppers look for a good value first, followed by fresh selection and convenience.
Even though overall fresh seafood prices remained fairly stable in the past year, North American shoppers perceived that seafood was a better value, particularly compared to the rising costs of beef and poultry, according to Lutz.
“It is really about the value they [shoppers] placed on a specific product. For example, lobster is still a very expensive seafood product, but sales were driven down because of supply this year. Even if lobster is USD 10 a pound, that is perceived as a value, compared to its regular price,” Lutz said.
While North American shoppers are seeking value, shoppers in the Middle East/ Africa region and in Latin America said fresh selection is most important to them, according to the survey. Europeans say that a good value is the most important attribute when buying fresh seafood, followed by fresh selection and convenience.
Even though fresh seafood sales rose in the U.S. last year, fresh seafood accounts for only five percent of stores’ total sales, according to Nielsen. Lutz believes that fresh seafood purchases lag behind other proteins because shoppers require much more customer service than other protein categories.
“Self-serve just does not touch the consumer…in the same way that beef and chicken does because consumers know the cuts and the selection in those departments. The input from the behind-the-counter person in a supermarket or the person running the fish shop is not only important for capturing sales, but for building consumer confidence and repeat purchases,” Lutz said.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the conference on “Linking the Production and Consumption Chain of Ca Mau Crab 2025,” Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee Lê Văn Sử posed a central question: how to shift the province’s crab exports toward official trade channels, instead of relying heavily on small-scale border trade with China as currently practiced.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The whitefish market in Japan is showing a clear divergence among supplying countries, in which Vietnam continues to affirm its role as a stable and high-potential exporter. Vietnam currently ranks third after the US and Russia in whitefish export value to Japan. Thanks to tariff incentives and the ability to meet Japan’s strict standards, Vietnamese pangasius continues to record a stable and positive growth trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The People's Committee of Ca Mau Province has just issued a plan to expand the super-intensive, low-water-exchange, biosecure white-leg shrimp farming model (RAS-IMTA) for whiteleg shrimp farming to a scale of 1,500 hectares, aiming to develop high-tech, sustainable and environmentally friendly shrimp farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company (HNX: SGC) plans to issue over 7.1 million shares to raise nearly 465 Billion VND for Hoan Ngoc M&A Deal.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Rabobank, global tilapia production is forecast to exceed 7 million tons in 2025, driven by a strong recovery in major producing countries including China, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Among them, Vietnam is emerging as a potential tilapia supplier in the global supply chain, capitalizing on market fluctuations to expand production and exports.
By the end of Q3/2025, Vietnam’s seafood industry recorded a clear recovery as a series of leading companies reported strong profits — some even achieving the highest results in their history. After several quarters struggling with high costs and weakened demand, the latest business results indicate a robust comeback across the industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On November 12 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Embassy of the Netherlands, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, organized the Vietnam–Netherlands Business Forum under the theme “Shaping the future of sustainable aquaculture in the Mekong Delta.”
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