- Title: Caviar farm in southwestern France keeps to strict standards, defends high prices
- Date: 13th December 2016
- Summary: ULTRASOUND SCREEN
- Embargoed: 28th December 2016 16:12
- Keywords: sturgeon Sturia Bordeaux luxury caviar France cheap competition
- Location: SAINT-SULPICE-ET-CAMEYRAC/ SAINT-GENIS-DE-SAINTONGE, FRANCE
- City: SAINT-SULPICE-ET-CAMEYRAC/ SAINT-GENIS-DE-SAINTONGE, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA0025CPWCHZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:It is peak fishing season in Sturgeon's aquaculture farm in southwestern France.
By the end of February, all of the 45,000 sturgeons will be fished and then closely scrutinized, but only 7,000 to 8,000 of them will be selected to produce this year precious black gold, or caviar by pioneering farm Sturgeon.
Female sturgeons only start making eggs around their seventh or eighth year, or up to their 14th year, depending on the species. Each fish undergoes a number of tests, such as an ultrasound or a biopsy, with about half a dozen personnel involved.
"In the ultrasound, we can see how developed the eggs are, but also go further regarding their size, to be able to measure it precisely, and really see how firm the eggs are and check if they are developed enough to produce caviar. We do a biopsy. So we take a sample of eggs that we measure, and we can examine in terms of firmness and taste," Sturgeon's production director Thierry Mounier said.
All the fish are born on the farm, and bred following strict criteria. They are fed with fish food, free of genetically modified organisms, in an environment that tries to approximate their natural habitat.
Sturgeon owns seven of these farms, and keeps secret the address of their laboratory for security reasons.
The sturgeons are killed individually with a stick, and their eggs are retrieved by hand.
The eggs are then separated and rearranged according to their colour, firmness and appearance, before being salted and canned. Sturgeon's flagship caviar brand is Sturia.
"While the females are all sisters, we can see that because of the genetics, we will get eggs of different colours. We can see here that we have a beautiful colour gradient; we know that the brightest eggs are the most sought after. So here (showing the brightest eggs), in Sturia we have the 'Grand Chef' variety, and then the 'Vintage' variety," Sturgeon's processing laboratory chief Jean-Baptiste Bomy said.
This year again, Sturgeon will produce around 12 tonnes of caviar, generating around 9 million euros in sales.
A 15-gram can of the Sturia Grand Chef, which has the clearest colour and firm grain, costs 49 euros.
The Vintage variety, which is firm and has a mixture of fruity and salty flavors, costs 23 euros for a 10-gram can.
Sturgeon is the biggest caviar producer in France, pioneering the farming of sturgeons 30 years ago. France itself the third largest caviar producer after China and Italy.
Since wild sturgeon fishing was banned in 2008 in the Caspian Sea, the number of producers has climbed to 109, up from around 50 in 2011.
Recently, new caviar production is drawing interest from private and institutional investors venturing into high-end gastronomy.
The CEO of Sturia, the luxury brand of Sturgeon, says he is getting unsolicited approaches from investors even though wholesale prices for sturgeon eggs have dropped 50% in the past five years due to this rise in the number of producers.
While producers and traders have kept prices high, at least one supermarket in France is selling caviar for less than 10 euros for 15 grammes.
Laurent Dulau, the CEO of Sturia, does not agree with such pricing and would rather keep their products in the luxury segment despite its availability in some supermarkets.
"We want to be, in all modesty, the cream of the crop as far as caviar is concerned. The reduction (of market prices) will not pass for us because of two things. First, the market price is defined by the traders, who are the ones making the greatest margins, and we don't want to go below the market price, because there is no interest in breaking this market price This way, and as in any kind of business, we can keep margins and reinvest this money then to keep on growing," he said.
Dulau, together with six other caviar producers from Aquitaine, representing 75% of French producers, is now fighting to make the recognised "Caviar d'Aquitaine" a protected brand under the label of "Indication Geographiquement Protegee" (Geographically Protected Label) to prevent anyone from using the label "caviar d'aquitaine" for caviar farmed in other locations. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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