Tom Seaman – UNDERCURRENTNEWS

With the wave of consolidation going on in US
retail and foodservice, suppliers look set to get squeezed even harder.

Jim Gulkin, managing director of Siam Canadian Group, is not a fan of this.

“I think it’s undemocratic and goes against good free enterprise,” he told Undercurrent News. “They [big retail and foodservice companies] are becoming too big and powerful and end up having the entire supply chain at their mercy.”

The uniting of US-based Safeway and Albertsons and the possibility of a merger between Ahold and Delhaize Group, which are based in the Netherlands and Belgium respectively, but have big US operations, means the big are getting even bigger.

In foodservice, the possibility of a merged Sysco and US Foods, a deal which the companies are in a legal battle to get through, is also causing big concern for suppliers.

As seafood is less consolidated than other protein sectors, suppliers are less well equipped to deal with this, he said.

“If you compare seafood to the meat guys in the US and Brazil, it’s far, far more fragmented.”

Gulkin feels Siam Canadian, which has sourcing offices in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Myanmar and India, has a unique business model and should be well protected against this trend, however.

When the early mortality syndrome disease hit Thailand, Siam Canadian was able to offset this with sourcing from Indonesia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India he said.

“I think we are well set up to deal with the consolidation, but that doesn’t mean I like it,” said Gulkin.

Source:

Contact us : Siam Canadian Group Frozen Seafood Exporters for more formation:
Email: info@siamcanadian.com