Top Story: Yum Brands has terminated their global relationship with OSI - a major meat supplier for fast food, in fallout from China scandal 

News Summary: August 1, 2014 

Yum brands has seen its strongest global growth in China, but that has been threatened by the shut down of their supplier, Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd., a division of OSI, after Chinese television showed workers mixing in old out of date meat with fresh meat. “The result has been a significant, negative impact to same-store sales at both KFC and Pizza Hut in China over the past 10 days,” said David E. Russell, Yum’s vice president of finance, in a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange commission. 

Beaver St. Fisheries is looking to expand is export business, which now accounts for about 25% of their sales. The company, which has focused on being a major Walmart supplier, is looking to also expand the reach of its Sea Best brand. 

Nippon Suisan is expecting a surge in profitability at both Gortons and King and Prince this year, and also improved profits in its Marine products division in the US, including Unisea, Glacier Fish, and FW Bryce. An improving pollock market is one of the causes. 

We are closely watching current shrimp prices, as there are increasing indications that we are at a market bottom. In China, whose demand has influence on global supplies, we are seeing evidence of higher prices and more imports following the strong typhoon that hit Hainan and Guangdong provinces. 

Sen Begich picked up another fisheries re-election endorsement, this time from the Bering Sea Crab Harvesters. Also there appears to be good congressional support from Begich and Rubio for extending the fishing vessel exemption from the 2008 coastal vessel discharge act. Without the exemption, vessels would have to report everytime they washed down the deck. 

Finally, there has been a lot of negative media attention to seafood imports lately. On the one hand, we have an ex-congressman urging Americans to boycott Russian fish to show their anger at Putin, and calling out the companies that are major users. We also have author Paul Greenberg on a media tour suggesting there is something wrong with Americans importing so much seafood. In our video we address where we think this is a fallacy. 

We fully support the local food movement, and also a premium for US caught fish like Alaska salmon and Gulf shrimp. But imported seafood is what makes current levels of US seafood consumption possible - and bashing imports ends up demonizing most seafood users. This is not a way to increase consumption.

John Sackton, Editor And Publisher , Lexington, Massachusetts 

Seafood.com News 1-781-861-1441 

Email comments to jsackton@seafood.com

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