Regional segmentation of the salted codfish market in Spain: Implications for Norwegian producers

Abstract

The article draws on the theory of conventions to analyse the shift in the geographical origin of salted codfish consumed in Spain. Since the mid-1990s, Norway has lost most of its market share to new suppliers such as Iceland. The authors analyse a dataset comprising statistical data and information from semi-structured interviews conducted with Spanish processing companies, retail outlets, foodservice managers, and private consumers. They find that this substitution process is a consequence of the ability of new suppliers to meet the more complex demands of the increasingly segmented Spanish market. Further, regional consumption patterns in Spain are diverging from the comparatively homogeneous situation that underpinned the traditional Norwegian hegemony. Industrial, market, and public conventions have become more influential in the most populated regions, such as Madrid, Catalonia, and the Basque Country. The authors argue that a stronger focus on the upper segment of the Spanish codfish market, based on domestic, ecological, and civic conventions, might constitute a reliable strategy for Norwegian producers to recapture some of their market share. It is concluded that concerned consumers in Spain are still sensitive to attributes related to origin, sustainability, and local development, all of which underpin the Norwegian salted codfish production system.