Cod filleted in China before sold in Sweden
Around half of all cod sold in Swedish freezers and large kitchens comes from the Barents Sea northwest of Norway and then is shipped to China to be filleted, before then being shipped back and sold to the Swedish public.
Several companies told Swedish Television News that they justify the 80 day journey by saying that they get more fish out of the fish preparation companies in China because they still do the filleting by hand.
"One of the benefits we get out of shipping the fish to China today is that they have a great deal of competence when it comes to filleting fish by hand, so we get a very high quality product. You get back so much more of the fish, which ends up benefiting consumers and the overall supply chain," Henrik Hjalmarsson, president of food company Findus, said.
Hjalmarsson said that he is open to the possibility of the cod being filleted in northern Europe if consumers are willing to pay for the increased costs that would follow.
