Korea ripe for Alaska salmon: bad breaks for Asia open doors for Alaska to increase salmon sales there.

• Author: Schmitz, Richard

Setbacks for some beef, poultry and salmon producers in Asia and elsewhere may become Alaska's gain--if those who harvest, market, process and sell seafood here can put needed marketing savvy and specialized equipment in place with speed and efficiency.

Anchorage Sen. John Cowdery, who has made numerous trade related trips to Asia--and South Korea in particular--has for years seen an opportunity for Alaska's seafood producers in the booming economy of that Asian nation.

Now it seems three incidents, taken as a whole, have opened a door for Alaska, explained Alan Austerman, policy advisor for fisheries to Gov. Frank Murkowski.

"Number one--the mad cow disease outbreak created an opportunity for Koreans to look at a different protein source. Second was the avian (bird) flu, which impacted poultry, and number three was a run of negative press reports on pollution and farmed salmon, as well as a mercury scare," Austerman explained.

Together, these incidents prompted major Korean food distributors to look into importing wild Alaska salmon as one way to fill the gap. The question was whether the Korean consumer would accept the relatively unknown products, Cowdery explained.

Additionally, there was the matter of price--whether the price point offered by Korean buyers would be high enough to provide a profit for Alaska commercial fishermen and their processors.

AN OPEN DOOR

A contract with Lotte Group, Korea's No. 3 food distributor, opened the door--but some technical setbacks have delayed the deal until next fishing season. The glitch was a lack of processing equipment needed to produce pull top cans, preferred by Korean consumers. The equipment should be in place in 2005, Cowdery said.

For much of 2003 and early 2004, Cowdery and the governor's staff worked with an Anchorage entrepreneur with Korean ties to negotiate contracts for Korean purchase of Alaska seafood. A "Salmon Expo" in Seoul capped their efforts in late May.

"We wanted Koreans to taste pure and inexpensive Alaska salmon," Cowdery told the Korea Times, explaining that Alaska salmon swims in rivers free of harmful bacteria and in oceans close to pristine.

The two-day event drew hundreds of participants and featured seafood dishes prepared by Korean and Alaskan chefs. "Up to now, salmon has not been popular in Korea. There was a perception that it was unpalatable and expensive," Cowdery said.

Nome Sen. Donny Olson also took part, and, as a medical doctor, was on hand to explain some...