From Iceland — CEO Compares Struggle To Sell Fish To The Chinese Trying To Sell Dog Meat

CEO Compares Struggle To Sell Fish To The Chinese Trying To Sell Dog Meat

Published October 12, 2015

Nanna Árnadóttir
Photo by
Ragna Guðmundsdóttir/Guðmundur Guðmundsson

The CEO of Fisheries Iceland, the association of Icelandic fisheries, has compared Iceland’s struggle to sell mackerel and capelin to new markets following Russian trade sanctions to an imaginary push by China to sell dog meat to the U.S, reports RÚV.

“It’s easier said than done to find a new market for a product that isn’t already established in that market,” said CEO Kolbeinn Árnason. “I don’t think that selling dog meat in the U.S would go especially well if that market closed in China, it would at least take some time to create a market for it, and that’s where we are at [with mackerel and capelin].”

In light of Russian trade sanctions, the fisheries represented by Fisheries Iceland were allowed to transfer a portion of their mackerel quota to next year in order to compensate for the loss of potential revenue. Even so, Fisheries Iceland has struggled to recover from the loss of the Russian market.

It is worth noting that while dog meat consumption may have an historical precedence in China, dog eating in  the 21st century faces strong criticism and is more often than not considered indecent.

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