India's RACSL to supply seafood to US supermarket giant H Mart

Odisha-based RACSL will start by supplying black tiger and vannamei prawns

Odisha-based seafood exporting firm Ram's Assorted Cold Storage Limited (RACSL) has forged a strategic partnership with American supermarket giant H Mart to supply quality, fresh, competitive Indian seafood products to the North American market.

H Mart, which currently operates 92 mega stores in the United States and Canada, offers a wide selection of foods and household products for Asians, including Koreans, Indians, Japanese, and Chinese.

The partnership is the outcome of the meeting between Aditya Dash, managing director of RACSL, and Ilyeon Kwon and William Choi, the founder and CEO and the chief operating officer and president of H Mart, respectively, at the latter’s headquarters in New Jersey.

With $2 billion as its expected sales for 2017, H Mart is set to continue in its position as a top supplier of Asian products in North America.

"A strategic partnership with H Mart will enable RACSL to market niche seafood products such as products sourced from Chilika and from artisanal fisherman. This is due to the fact that H Mart’s customers appreciate freshness and quality and are willing to pay a premium for it," said Dash.

RACSL is the seafood exports division of the Suryo group of companies. It is a vertically integrated seafood company with its own hatchery, feed distribution, processing and trading units. In the last financial year, the company exported about Rs 130 crore of seafood items to the United States, China, European Union, Japan, and Vietnam.

"First, we will start supplying black tiger and vannamei prawns. They have also shown interest in other items like pomfrets, yellow croakers, and ribbon fish. We expect to dispatch the first container by November end," Dash added. RACSL is also exploring opportunities to sell edible oil, spices, and other food products to the American supermarket giant.

India is the largest seafood exporter to the United States, accounting for about 30 per cent of the $5.7 billion exports, with high demand for frozen shrimps. Export to the US in 2016-17 registered a growth of 22.72 per cent, 33 per cent, and 29.82 per cent in terms of quantity, value in rupee, and US dollars, respectively.