Reports

Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK / Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK

Published:

01/04/2010

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson, Sveinn Margeirsson

Supported by:

AVS

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK / Supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK

This report describes the progress and results of the project "value chain of Icelandic container fish to the UK" funded by the ACP Fund. The aim of the project is to promote improvements in the value chain of container fish with the aim of increasing the quality and value of the products. In the first part of the project, a statistical assessment is made of whether the price and quality of container fish go hand in hand, but the results from that analysis indicate that supply has a dominant effect on fish prices and that the effect of quality is completely overshadowed. One of the main preconditions for encouraging improvements in the container fish value chain is that it can be shown that increased quality has financial benefits. Therefore, attempts were made to increase the provision of information on the forthcoming supply, in addition to which the information that accompanied catches was added to the floor of the auction markets. This was done in the hope that it would boost buyers' awareness of quality and that it would have a positive effect on fish prices. However, this experiment did not yield the desired results. It is the project partner's opinion that the key to increasing the quality and value of container fish is to arouse more interest among sellers as well as buyers in quality. In this way, buyers will be more willing to pay a higher price for the best quality, thus creating a market-related incentive among sellers to deliver only the best possible quality. With this aim in mind, the project partners were responsible for the introduction of quality assessment in the classification of fish in the UK markets and it is hoped that this will be useful to buyers in identifying which exporters perform best. The website www.matis.is/gamafiskur was also launched, with the aim of disseminating information to everyone in the container fish value chain on the issues that are likely to affect quality and value.

This is a report on the progress and results from the project "supply chain of Icelandic containerized fish to the UK". The objective of the project is to contribute to improvements in the supply chain of containerized fish from Iceland with the aim to improve quality and value. Financial benefits are a necessary condition in order to motivate improvements in the supply chain of containerized fish. Experiments were therefore made where information on expected supply and labeling of bins at auction markets were improved. This however did not return the expected results ie it did not affect average prices. The key to increasing quality and value of Icelandic containerized fish is to raise awareness for quality amongst suppliers and processors. Processors need to identify the suppliers that are supplying the best fish and they also need to reward them with higher prices. This would create a market-based incentive for suppliers to supply only top-quality fish. In order to contribute to this an intake quality score system has been implemented at Fishgate and Grimsby Fish Market, collecting data on the performance of individual suppliers. Also, a web-based supply chain guide www.matis.is/supplychainguide has been published, where relevant information for each link in the supply chain will be gathered.

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Reports

Use of RFID tags in fish processing, process control and traceability

Published:

01/11/2007

Authors:

Sveinn Margeirsson

Supported by:

AVS Fisheries Research Fund

Use of RFID tags in fish processing, process control and traceability

The aim of this project was to develop and implement RFID tags in fish processing. The project was funded by the ACP Fund. RFID tags are emoticons that emit radio waves. The project included the development of a methodology for maintaining batches from the reception of fish tanks and through processing, without slowing down the processing, the development of screw-on plastic caps with RFID tags to facilitate their replacement in fish tanks and the adaptation of RFID reading on forklifts. The project was supported by the results of two other projects, "Processing Forecast" and "Processing Forecast" and also benefited from work on the project "Profit Maximization". These projects have demonstrated the relationship between the origin of the catch and its processing characteristics and aim to use information recorded in fish processing to streamline and improve the management of the value chain of marine products, from fishing and to the market. A prerequisite for being able to use measurement results in forecasting is that the relationship between measurements carried out at different stages of production is known. In other words, the premise is traceability that is secured by RFID. The use of RFID tags in fish processing thus supports the work and development that has taken place in these projects, as the security and accuracy of the models used there are largely based on standardization in information processing. Such standardization is achieved precisely by implementing automation in the recording of material flows in the processing. The use of RFID tags has become quite widespread in retail, and the Wal-Mart retail chain has, among other things, taken advantage of the technology, which has been developing rapidly in recent years. It is considered to offer great potential for increased profits for companies in production and retail, among other things with less waste, improved possibilities for production and inventory management and possibilities for providing information to customers. Partners in the project were FISK Seafood, Matís, Maritech and Sæplast.

This project was aimed at developing and implementing RFID labels in fish processing. RFIDs are labels that transmit radio signals. The project included sustaining sequences from landing of fish tubs, through stockroom and processing, without slowing down the processing (sustaining sequences from catch to landing had been solved earlier). It also included the development of a plug, containing the RFID label, for easier exchange of labels and adjustments of RFID reading on a fork lift. The project took aim in, and collaborated with, other projects, such as “Processing forecast of cod” and “Contribution margin maximisation” (both funded by the AVS fund and Rannís), which have shown that the origin of catch and season of catch influences the processing properties of the catch. FISK Seafood, Matís, Maritech and Sæplast (Promens-Dalvík) collaborated on the project and it was funded by the AVS-fund, under the ministry of fisheries.

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