Notes from the saltfish trade
Short, practical pieces on sourcing, grading and shipping salted, smoked and frozen fish. Written by the people who buy and sell it.
·12 min readSalted saithe and pollock for the bakkeljauw and saltfish trade: a buyer's sourcing guide
A working trader's guide to buying salted saithe and pollock for the bakkeljauw and saltfish trade. Species truth, product forms, moisture and salt specs, why it ships chilled, origins, pack norms, EU import basics and private label, written for importers, wholesalers, toko chains and foodservice.
Read more →- ·6 min read
Saithe vs pollock vs pollack: what you are actually buying
Saithe, pollock and pollack get mixed up on spec sheets all the time, and the wrong line costs you on price and quality. Here is the species truth behind bakkeljauw, the name map across markets, and what to check before you sign off on an offer.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Fillet vs split-salted on the bone: yield, price and which your customers want
Fillet bakkeljauw is near-boneless, ready after uitkoken, and the retail default at a higher price. Split-salted on the bone, sold heel or moten, is cheaper but loses weight to bones and skin and hands the work to the cook. Here is how the two compare on yield, price and buyer, with a clear table.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Migas explained: what the small salted-fillet pieces are and who buys them
Migas is the small, boneless, skinless salted-fish format. Faces, wings, tails and thin loins shredded down to bits. It is the cheap SKU, mostly China-processed, and it sells where buyers want flavor and yield without paying for whole fillet. Here is what it is and who orders it.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Where bakkeljauw comes from: China origin, salting and the route into Europe
Most diaspora-trade bakkeljauw is salted saithe or pollock fillet, migas and bits, and a large share is processed and packed in China around Qingdao in Shandong. Salting also happens in Northern Europe. Here is the honest route, the reprocessing, and the questions to ask any supplier before you buy.
Read more → - ·6 min read
How fish gets salted: split, dry-salting, water-phase salt and why bakkeljauw ships chilled
A trader's walkthrough of how white fish gets split, salted and graded, what water-phase salt actually measures, and why heavily salted bakkeljauw still ships and stores chilled instead of sitting on an ambient shelf.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Salt fish grades and specs: reading a Codex STAN 167 sheet
A buyer's guide to salted fish specs. How Codex STAN 167 defines split versus fillet, the moisture and salt numbers to demand by market, and how to read a salted cod sheet before you sign a contract.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Bakkeljauw, makayabu and stockfish: three products, three buyers
Bakkeljauw, makayabu and stockfish look alike on a pallet, but they feed three different communities. Here is what each one really is, who buys it, and how to spec a salted and dried fish range without mixing them up.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Private label, HACCP and EU import: putting your brand on salted saithe and pollock
What it takes to import salted saithe and pollock into the EU and pack it under your own toko or foodservice brand. Approved-establishment sourcing, border control posts, the GGB/CHED health document, NVWA registration, HACCP and water-phase salt, and how Ratouli runs it from a single pallet.
Read more → - ·6 min read
Who buys bakkeljauw and saltfish in Europe: Surinamese, Caribbean, Portuguese and African demand
A demand map for distributors and category buyers. Where saltfish sells in Europe, which communities drive the volume, and how seasonality should shape your range planning. Written by a Volendam trader who moves this fish.
Read more → - ·9 min read
Salted and Dried Fish for African and Caribbean Shops: Stockfish, Makayabu, Saithe, Pollock and Bakkeljauw
Stockfish, makayabu and Bakkeljauw are one trade family sold under different community names. The salted product is salted saithe or pollock. The dried product is air-dried whole fish, mostly cod-family. Here is what each community asks for, the grades and formats to stock, and how it all ships DAP across the EU and UK from one EU-approved source.
Read more → - ·8 min read
Buying Bakkeljauw for Your Toko: Whole, Moten or Fillet, and How to Restock
In a Surinamese toko freezer, Bakkeljauw moves faster than almost anything else. Here is how to buy it: the three formats people ask for at the counter, how long it keeps in a dry store versus at -18C, the case sizes that fit a small shop, and a restock rhythm that keeps the shelf full.
Read more → - ·7 min read
Makayabu (poisson sale) wholesale: cartons for Congolese and West-African stores
Makayabu is dry-salted saithe or pollock, split open and sold in 9-10kg cartons. How we cure it, the grades worth asking for, and how DAP delivery gets cartons onto your shelf in Belgium and France from one EU-approved supplier.
Read more →