Even though 2021 was full of challenges, the Latvian canned fish producer Karavela closed the year successfully – according to the company’s representatives, according to preliminary figures, Karavela is already one of the largest exporters of canned fish in Europe.
In 2021, the company exported more than 73 million cans of fish to 45 countries around the world. The share of exports of the company’s products last year was 94%. In 2020, the company’s management decided to invest 16 million euros to strengthen the company’s competitiveness and promote the development of future projects until 2023.
“In the last two years, we have invested heavily in research and development of new products, and in 2021 the amount investments reached almost one million euros,” says Andris Bite, the long-term manager and co-owner of Karavela. “Last year, investments were made in the development of new products, resulting in the vegan canned fish products under the FISH PEAS brand.”
In 2022, the company plans to advance in the Italian and French markets, as well as significantly strengthen its position in the US and Australian markets. According to the head of the company, the global food market is expected to change globally in 2022, the new level of food prices will force producers to think about how to adapt to the new conditions and continue to operate, whereas store chains will also have to actively look for new opportunities and think about the rentability of the store shelves.
“Karavela is fully prepared for the big changes with this year’s planned projects and we are ready to share our offers and solutions with our customers,” continues Andris Bite, looking at the challenges of 2022.
Karavela’s mainly uses mackerel, herring, sprat, tuna, salmon, and mussels for its products, which are mainly exported to countries such as Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.
Detailed information on the quantities of fish used in the production of the company and the distribution percentage of exports by country can be found in the attachment.