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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Once a luxury, caviar now cheap

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PARIS: A surge in production and cut-price deals from supermarkets are bringing caviar to the mass market.


But that doesn’t bother Petrossian, one of the world’s oldest and largest caviar specialists, which sells the delicacy from its oak-walled boutique near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.


“The more people eat caviar the better,” says moustachioed owner Armen Petrossian, son of the brand’s Armenian founder.


“Then they can tell the difference between high-quality and lower quality caviar,” he adds, amid a steady stream of phone calls from customers placing orders ahead of Christmas.


Petrossian’s 30-gramme tin of Chinese caviar costs 54 euros ($57) and its Bulgarian Beluga “Special Réserve” 384 euros.


Last week, German discount supermarket Lidl offloaded thousands of 15-gramme tins of Italian caviar for just 9.99 euros apiece. Once dominated by the Soviet Union and Iran, sturgeon farming has spread to countries from Switzerland to Vietnam, and the United States to the United Arab Emirates.


World output, just over 100 tonnes around five years ago, is now more than 250 and is set to reach 500 by 2020, says Philippe Chauvin, head of the Comptoir du Caviar chain, citing data from the International Caviar Importers’ Association.


Market experts predict consolidation among producers, which now total more than 100 against a handful two decades ago — with the big fish eating the little fish to preserve margins.


— Reuters


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