How do I check who buys a fish farm’s harvest and how often?
Ask for a list of buyers with volumes, dates and payment history for each harvest, and read any written agreements. Then call a few buyers, with the seller’s permission. Harvest is timed to a buyer’s truck and schedule, so find out how firm those arrangements are and who holds them.
Ask for sales by buyer across several harvests. Note how many buyers there are, what share goes to the largest ones, and whether the same names come back. Look at how orders are placed: standing arrangements, phone calls or written purchase orders. Ask how the price is set and how often it changes.
Read any contracts, and ask your lawyer whether they pass to a new owner. If there is no contract, ask what is understood and how long the relationship has lasted. Ask about payment: do buyers pay on time, and were there any disputes over quality, size or short loads?
Ask how harvest is scheduled around buyers’ needs. Does the farm hold fish longer if a buyer delays? What does that cost in feed and risk? Ask whether the farm has ever lost a buyer, and what happened to the fish. A farm with many buyers and flexible timing has more choices. A farm with one buyer should explain how it would manage if that buyer left. Ask for introductions, and plan to attend a pickup. Ask the seller how contact with each buyer will be handed over, and for how long they will help after closing. Ask whether prices differ between buyers and why, and whether any buyer has asked for different sizes or delivery terms.
Key takeaways
- See sales by buyer over several harvests.
- Ask what happens to fish when a buyer delays.
- Meet the key buyers before you commit.
Related reading
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
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