Press release

Hanstholm, November 21th 2022 

 

Regarding the controlled termination of Hesselholt Fisk Eksport A/S

It is with great regret that we, on behalf of the ownership group behind Hesselholt Fisk Eksport A/S, must announce that Hesselholt Fisk Eksport A/S will cease operations and close down as of 31 December 2022.

Comptoir des Peches d’Europe du Nord, France, (Euronor) which is part of UK Fisheries Ltd., is the owner of Hesselholt Fisk Eksport A/S.

The reasons for the shutdown of Hesselholt can be traced back to 2020 with Corona closures throughout Europe within the Foodservice sector, after which the market has been challenged ever since. In 2022, we then saw a sharp deterioration. First, with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, then a completely abnormal/exploding inflation of all consumer goods and energy used in our production. The price increases in question amount to 100% to 400%.

The steep increase in costs has not been passed on to our customers. As prices for our products have stayed the same, we have seen a major decline in fish landings for processing of 40-50% in the entire North Atlantic (Iceland/Faroe Islands/Norway and Denmark) starting in the second half of 2021. It is not the fishing quotas that are to blame for this but other unavoidable external factors.

We assess that fishing volumes, inflation, and sales of our products will worsen in 2023 compared to what we witnessed in 2022. Therefore, we see no possibility of improving the company’s situation in the short term, and closure is inevitable.

Ceasing the activity of Hesselholt Fisk Eksport A/S was certainly not the owners’ intention when they took over the company in 2019, but unfortunately, it has become a necessity from an economic and operational point of view.

The owners want to thank all employees for their outstanding effort over the years. They would also like to thank the company’s suppliers and business partners.