Legislature(2023 - 2024)
03/21/2023 10:00 AM House FSH
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Export Market Development for Alaska Seafood | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
March 21, 2023
10:00 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sarah Vance, Chair
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative CJ McCormick
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Craig Johnson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT FOR ALASKA SEAFOOD
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
HANNAH LINDOFF, Executive Director
Global Marketing and Strategy
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Export Market Development for Alaska Seafood."
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:00:54 AM
CHAIR SARAH VANCE called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Representatives
Stutes, McCormick, and Vance were present at the call to order.
Representatives McCabe, Himschoot, and Carpenter arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT FOR ALASKA SEAFOOD
PRESENTATION(S): EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT FOR ALASKA SEAFOOD
10:01:38 AM
CHAIR VANCE announced that the only order of business would be a
presentation on the export market development for Alaska
Seafood.
10:02:20 AM
HANNAH LINDOFF, Executive Director, Global Marketing and
Strategy, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), gave a
PowerPoint presentation, titled "Export Market Development for
Alaska Seafood" [hard copy included in the committee packet].
She began the presentation on slide 2 and stated that ASMI's
goal is to raise the economic value of the Alaska seafood
resource for the state and the commercial fishermen. She
pointed out the chart on the slide that showed the value of
seafood exports in the state over the last decade. She noted
that the export value is coming back up after the COVID-19
pandemic. She moved to slide 3 and discussed ASMI's export
funding through grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). She pointed out the funding from the Agricultural Trade
Promotional Program (ATP) is for diversifying the market to
compete with China, as this is the main focus of the
presentation.
10:05:29 AM
MS. LINDOFF, in response to a committee question, stated that an
emerging market is not based on the product but on the gross
national product of the country. In other words, the emerging
market is based on the location.
MS. LINDOFF, in response to a committee question concerning the
effect of the trade war with China, stated that China was almost
a billion-dollar market for the state. She remarked that for
products that were mostly marketed to China, their value has
decreased up to 50 percent. She added that from the ramped-up
efforts in the U.S. market, there has been some recovery from
this loss. In response to a follow-up question, she stated that
ASMI's board has decided to continue this strategy, as the
domestic market was strong during the pandemic and shipping has
not been an issue. She added that in general the population in
the U.S. does not eat very much seafood compared with the
traditional diets in other countries; however, ASMI has been
"teaching people."
10:09:03 AM
MS. LINDOFF moved to slide 4, which shows where Alaska falls in
the export market. She pointed out that Alaska only has a
fraction of the global market, and she asserted that Alaska
needs to distinguish itself in the "high end of the global
market." She moved to maps on slide 5 and slide 6 and pointed
out where Alaska is in the global market. In relation to
location, she stated that the Asian and European markets are
well established, so these will not be discussed. She pointed
to some of the emerging markets, such as Morocco. On slide 7,
she discussed products that are close to 100 percent reliant on
export markets, such as sea cucumbers, which have a very high
market value in the Asian markets. On slide 8 she pointed out
the differences in global flavor preferences.
10:13:56 AM
MS. LINDOFF discussed the barriers of overseas markets, as seen
on slide 9. She explained that the big market in China cannot
be replaced; therefore, ASMI has helped companies find new
exports by providing resources, research, and ground work.
Moving from slide 10 to slide 15, she discussed how ASMI has
been helping companies move Alaska seafood into Southeast Asian
markets since 2016. She pointed out that ASMI has received USDA
grants to educate the companies and the markets in the region.
She continued that ASMI has joined other U.S. seafood commodity
promotion groups in this effort. Using an ATP grant, she said,
ASMI was able to do marketing missions to Thailand, Vietnam, and
Singapore. She stated that through the Cochran Mission,
companies from these countries have been brought to Alaska for
an introduction into its seafood resource.
10:19:02 AM
MS. LINDOFF continued to point out the marketing efforts in
Southeast Asia, stating that Thailand has been taking in more
high-end product, especially sockeye salmon. She stated that
since the effort began in 2016, exports to Southeast Asia have
doubled. She stressed that ASMI is not done with the marketing
campaign in the area and pointed out on slide 19 a successful
mission in Vietnam in 2019. She added that the Philippines and
Malaysia are included in the grants, so there are more markets
to target.
10:21:06 AM
MS. LINDOFF moved from slide 20 to slide 22 and discussed the
Latin America markets. She stated that USDA funds have been
used to open the Brazil market, which has turned into a
"vibrant" program. She stated that this has helped open the
markets in other countries in the area. She noted that seafood
processing centers in Peru have been used to "feed" the South
American market through the free-trade agreement among these
countries. She described the problems with the trade agreements
with Peru and its potential for processing, but this has been
since resolved. She explained that now Peru is processing a
large amount of Alaska seafood, and this product is being
distributed to other countries there. She noted that while
these markets are not as productive as Southeast Asia, there has
been hard work to build this up.
MS. LINDOFF moved to slide 23 and pointed out the seafood
donated to Ukraine during the war, as this effort was funded by
the legislature. She discussed the market loss in Russia, and
then in Ukraine, which had become the largest market in the
region. She stated that now Eastern European markets have
grown, including those in Moldova, Romania, Georgia, Estonia,
Lithuania and more, as seen on slide 24. She noted that in
Ukraine there is a high demand for inexpensive protein, which
has highlighted the importance of pollock roe and other lower
cost pollack products, as seen on slide 25.
10:27:49 AM
MS. LINDOFF moved to slide 26 and continued with the discussion
of the high protein, low-cost meals for the people of Ukraine.
She indicated the importance of the Eastern European market for
pollack roe, but she added there needs to be diversification.
She stated that this is why there has been diversification in
the smaller markets across the area. She stressed the
importance of having the premium spot in these smaller markets.
10:29:59 AM
MS. LINDOFF, in response to a question in regard to the Russian
fish coming into the U.S. market via China, expressed the
understanding that this is being addressed; however, it is
proving to be complicated and difficult.
10:32:56 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 10:33
a.m.
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