Mink meat might become a valuable byproduct for Icelandic fur farmers as Chinese importers have expressed interest in buying meat at mink farms in Skagafjörður, north Iceland.
Skagafjörður. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The local meat product company, KS in Sauðárkrókur, has received a number of requests from keen buyers in China in recent years, and at the end of May their representatives will visit the region, ruv.is reports.
“I find it an exciting prospect. In mink farming we aim to feed the animals on excess material from fish and meat production […] so we find it very positive if the carcasses can be used for human consumption or other purposes,” said fur farming consultant Einar E. Einarsson.
According to Einar, mink meat is a delicacy in Asia. He has tried it himself and found it tasty.
There are 24 fur farms in Iceland and the industry is on the increase. Mink skins are sought after and the price has never been higher.
The local production amounts to 160,000 skins per year while the mink carcasses are used for soil production or have simply been buried, some 150 tons per year.
“A meeting has been scheduled where further information can be obtained on how much they’d like to pay for it and how the procedure would be. If it is doable, farmers are definitely willing to participate,” Einar concluded.
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