(theconversation.edu.au) Food prices have already risen by 7% this year and cereal prices rose 17% between June and July. A rise in food prices is often linked to social and political turmoil in poor countries, where people already use most of their income to buy food.

(SeafoodSource) Sainsbury’s new retail report, “Our Future with Fish,” delivered valuable insight into the seafood purchasing trends of UK consumers. It found that not only are Brits starting to eat a more diverse range of species and consuming two percent more fish per capita head than they were in 1975, but that their purchasing decisions are being increasingly influenced by what they watch on TV and view online.

(SeafoodSource) As the sustainable food movement continues to grow, it’s spreading from the farm to the sea. And though it takes some effort to become educated about what to serve and what to avoid, many chefs and operators are finding that serving sustainable seafood can actually be less expensive, more flavorful and allow for more creativity in the kitchen.

(vasep.com.vn) In the first quarter of 2012, Vietnam seafood enterprises had to struggle with a great number of challenges related to capital, raw material supply, input cost and great range of complex administrative procedures. On the turn to the second quarter, the mentioned challenges have still dominated the fisheries industry, in which lack of capital has been seen as the most concerning issue, hurting the fish processing and export activities. The state of Vietnam fisheries industry in Q.II/2012 could be figured out through the 9 following highlights:

(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam shrimp exports to Japan in the first 6 months of 2012 recorded high growth, except for January when shrimp exports to the market fell.

(indiatimes.com) The marine products exports touched 862,021 tonnes valued at Rs 16597.23 crore ($3508.45 million) in 2011-12. This translates to $3.5 billion.

(seafood.com) Prices of seasonal flying squid are cheap this year backed by robust catch in the Sea of Japan, with squid attracting popularity at fresh fish stores amid present market where prices of many fish are on the rise.

(vasep.com.vn) In the second quarter of 2012, Vietnamese fisheries industry has faced big problems such as lack of capital for producing and processing pangasius, lower demand for seafood in EU market, sharp decrease in global shrimp price, Vietnam shrimp price lost its competitiveness in key importing markets, increase in barriers from importers, hiking producing costs…

(seafood.com) Russia has been and will continue to be a large and rapidly growing market for imported fish and seafood according to a recent USDA Gain Report, writes Emily Balsamo, Moscow Office, Bord Bia - Irish Food Board.

(fis.com) Higher raw material costs mean tuna company Thai Union Frozen Products Plc (TUF) might not achieve its revenue growth target of 15 per cent.

(fis.com) The catch quota for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean was set for the first time at the annual meeting of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) held in June in the US at 10,000 tonnes total over 2012 and 2013.

(Xinhua) The Philippine fishery sector incurred losses amounting to 387 million pesos (9.26 million U.S. dollars) due to typhoons Vicente and Saola (local names Ferdie and Gener) and monsoon rains, a senior government official confirmed on Friday.

(SeafoodSource) Seafood exports from Norway remain stable despite the EU’s economic woes, report officials at the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).

(vasep.com.vn) In January – June 2012, Vietnam pangasius export to the EU dropped nearly 27 percent compared to the same period of 2011. The downtrend is predicted to continue in the coming months when traders see no sign of recovery in the European economy.

(SeafoodSource) Strong demand for sea cucumber (also known as beche mere) is driving investment in the sector in China, say analysts monitoring key cultivators.