Magazine: Fish market

Compared with Europe and the rest of the world, Hungarians eat little fish and seafood, but it is good news that consumption is growing.

The majority of fish produced in Hungary comes from lake fish farming, and it appears in the market in the autumn-winter period. Hungarian fish consumption has increased in the last 20 years, but this growth was mainly the result of buying more processed products (mainly imported ones) and due to the output of intensive fish farming.

Attila Sárközi
sales director
FRoSTA

Attila Sárközi, sales director of Frosta revealed that Hungarian fish consumption was at 6.4kg/person in 2017, which was much more than the 3-4kg/person in the 2005-2013 period. The company’s experience is that demand is shifting towards higher quality. Although Frosta only has sea fish products, even they can feel the positive effects of the government campaign promoting freshwater fish consumption.

András Béki
purchasing manager
Rozmár Nagykereskedés

András Béki, purchasing manager of wholesaler Rozmár Nagykereskedés informed us that both the retail and the HoReCa sector purchase more fish from them than 2 years ago. What is more, they sold twice as much fruits of the sea to gastronomy units than 2 years earlier. Demand is the biggest for ready-to-cook products.

Ákos Bősze
target group manager – HoReCa
METRO

Ákos Bősze, METRO’s target group manager–HoReCa spoke to us about great changes in the consumption habits of generations Y and Z: young Hungarians eat about twice as much fish as the average Hungarian. The company has found that the market is less Christmas-centred than before and that consumption of fruits of the sea increases in the summer months.

Varga László
áruházigazgató
Auchan Retail Magyarország

What about the hypermarket channel? László Varga, store manager of Auchan Retail Magyar­ország’s hypermarket in Budaörs was happy to report that fish consumption is growing, but he added that about 40 percent of their annual sales is still realised in the Christmas period. However, the store manager’s experience is that more and more shoppers like to try new products and preparation methods. The Budaörs Auchan is special because it has a fish bistro, where customers get the chance to try special fish dishes.