How to evaluate seafood, shrimp and aquaculture supplier offers

What makes two supplier offers comparable?

Two offers are comparable only when they answer the same request: the same species and product form or the same design capacity, the same unit and currency, the same Incoterms rule and named place, and the same validity period. If one quote is FOB per kilogram of net weight and another is CFR per carton including glaze, the lower number tells you nothing yet.

Write the specification first, send it to every supplier unchanged, and convert answers to one basis before ranking them. Differences in scope are recorded as differences, not averaged away.

Supplier statement, completed check or estimate — why the label matters

A supplier statement is what the offer says. It is useful, but it is not proof. A completed check means someone looked at evidence — a certificate confirmed with its issuer, a laboratory report, production records, a site visit — and recorded what was seen and when. An estimate is a figure someone calculated, with its basis written down. Missing means the supplier has not answered.

Keeping these four labels separate stops a confident sentence in a quotation from being repeated as fact. It also shows the buyer exactly which checks remain before a decision.

Seafood and farmed fish offers: what to compare

Use the same rows for every offer. The evidence line shows what turns a supplier statement into a completed check.

Species and product form

Each offer must state: Common and scientific name; raw or cooked; whole, fillet, portion; chilled, frozen or live

Evidence: Product specification sheet; sample or inspection report

Grade and size

Each offer must state: Size band and its basis; uniformity; net weight

Evidence: Inspection or count report against the stated basis

Origin

Each offer must state: Country, production area, farmed or wild, processing country

Evidence: Origin documents for the actual lot

Volume and season

Each offer must state: Tonnes per shipment and per programme; harvest windows

Evidence: Harvest or production plan; past shipment records — a statement alone does not show availability

Processing and packaging

Each offer must state: Process steps, treatments, freezing method, inner pack, carton, labelling

Evidence: Plant documentation; packing specification; label proof

Cold chain

Each offer must state: Storage and transport temperatures, monitoring, hand-over points

Evidence: Temperature records and the logistics plan

Food-safety and import documents

Each offer must state: What the destination requires and what the supplier actually provides

Evidence: Certificates confirmed with the issuer; destination requirements confirmed with the competent authority

Quote, currency and Incoterms

Each offer must state: Price unit, currency, validity, Incoterms rule, version and named place

Evidence: Signed quotation on the agreed basis

Lead time

Each offer must state: Order to first shipment, and what it depends on

Evidence: Supplier confirmation tied to the season and capacity

Write the seafood specification first → · Import documents and cold-chain questions →

Shrimp offers: extra checks before a shortlist

• State the count basis on every line — pieces per pound and pieces per kilogram are not interchangeable — and whether the count is before or after glaze.
• Separate net weight from glaze. Ask for the glaze percentage and how net weight is declared on the carton.
• Name the product form precisely: head-on, headless, shell-on, peeled and deveined, peeled undeveined, tail-on; raw or cooked; IQF or block frozen.
• Use the scientific name. Different shrimp species are not substitutes in a specification.
• Treat “antibiotic-free”, “residue-free” or “certified” as supplier claims until test reports or certificates for the relevant lot or site have been checked, and confirm which documents your destination actually requires.

Wholesale farmed fish and shrimp buyer checklist →

Aquaculture project and equipment offers: what to compare

Project offers differ most in what they assume. Record the assumption behind each figure, not just the figure.

Capacity

Each offer must state: Design output and its basis (t/yr, kg/m³, juveniles per cycle)

Evidence: Design calculation with stated assumptions

Species fit

Each offer must state: Species and life stages the design is for

Evidence: Documented installations for that species

Site and water assumptions

Each offer must state: Water source, quality, temperature, salinity, flow, site conditions

Evidence: Your own measured data compared with what the offer assumes

Equipment scope

Each offer must state: Included and excluded items, spares, installation, commissioning, training

Evidence: Line-item scope schedule

Operating inputs

Each offer must state: Power, oxygen, feed, water exchange and labour

Evidence: Supplier figures checked against your site and a planning calculator

Compliance documents

Each offer must state: Permits, standards, electrical and pressure certificates, warranties

Evidence: Documents confirmed with the issuer or your engineer

Reference evidence

Each offer must state: Comparable projects or results the supplier can document

Evidence: Reference call or visit notes with date

How to compare RAS quotations → · Supplier comparison evidence → · Total cost of ownership → · RFQ checklist →