Seafood fans are blessing their stars right now after news of the salt-cured fish-eggs delicacy, caviar, reaching the masses surfaced. It was reported that after an increase in production and a slump in price, the delicacy will finally reach the mass market with an affordable price.
However, producers, like Petrossian, are not bothered by the price cut of the product. Rather they say that it is better if more people start consuming caviar. "The more people eat caviar the better," said moustachioed owner Armen Petrossian, son of the brand's Armenian founder, according to Reuters. He also said that customers will always understand the difference between good caviar and bad caviar.
While 30-gram tin of Chinese caviar is sold by Petrossian at a price of 54 euros, the Bulgarian version is priced at 384 euros. However, in the last week Lidli, a German discount supermarket, offered 15-gram tins of Italian caviar for just 9.99 euros.
Caviar, which was once produced mainly by few countries like Soviet Union and Iran, have spread to many countries in the last five year, mainly due to the jump in production. Reuters reported Philippe Chauvin, head of the Comptoir du Caviar chain, saying that the World output, which was just over 100 tonnes in 2011, is now more than 250. He also stated that the production will go up to 500 tonnes by 2020.
Though big companies are not that worried by the recent trend, many investors are sceptical about the price crunch. "Many investors have plowed money into this business thinking it was the goose with the golden eggs but in fact, profitability is not the same as it was five years ago," said Laurent Dulau, chief executive of Sturia, France's leading caviar producer, reported the new website.
Caviars are eggs of fishes, belong to the Acipenseridae family, which are processed to remove fatty tissues and membrane and canned using non-iodized salt to preserve the product.
