Artikel Intan Seafood

How to Write a Frozen Seafood RFQ Before Asking for a Quote

A frozen seafood quote is only useful when suppliers are pricing the same product.

If one supplier quotes a 10 kg carton with heavy glaze, another quotes 10 kg of net seafood, and a third uses a different species or size grade, comparing their prices per kilogram tells you very little. The lowest number may simply represent a different specification.

That is why a good request for quotation, or RFQ, should come before asking, “What is your price?” For frozen seafood buyers, the RFQ should define the product, weight basis, quality requirements, packaging, destination, quantity, logistics, and acceptance criteria clearly enough for suppliers to quote against the same commercial requirements.

For importers, distributors, retailers, foodservice buyers, and private-label businesses, this makes supplier comparisons more reliable and reduces the risk of misunderstandings later in the purchasing process.

Start by defining the exact seafood product

A product name such as “frozen snapper,” “croaker,” “mackerel,” or “shrimp” may not be specific enough for international sourcing.

Several species can be traded under similar common names. Depending on the destination market, the accepted commercial name may also differ from the name commonly used in the country of origin.

Where species identity matters, include both the scientific name and the commercial or common name you intend to buy. The U.S. FDA Seafood List, for example, distinguishes scientific names, acceptable market names, common names, and vernacular names across more than 2,100 seafood records.

A practical RFQ specification might therefore identify:

the commercial product name;
the scientific name;
whether the product is wild-caught or farmed, when relevant;
the country or area of origin, if required;
and any destination-market naming requirements.

This helps prevent a situation in which two suppliers submit prices for seafood sold under the same broad market name but sourced from different species.

The product form should be just as precise. Instead of asking for “frozen fish,” state whether you need whole round, gutted, headed and gutted, steak, loin, fillet, portion, or another processing form.

For shrimp, squid, and other seafood, use the processing terminology normally used for that category and clarify details such as shell-on or peeled, tail-on or tail-off, skin-on or skinless, bone-in or boneless, and trimmed or untrimmed.

Specify the freezing and product format

The way seafood is frozen and packed affects handling, storage, portioning, and sometimes price.

FAO guidance distinguishes individually quick frozen products from frozen blocks. With IQF products, individual pieces remain separate after freezing. Block-frozen seafood is frozen as a compact mass and may be better suited to certain processing or bulk applications.

Your RFQ should therefore specify whether you require IQF, block frozen, or another agreed format rather than leaving the freezing method open to interpretation.

If the freezing history matters to your business, you can also specify requirements such as sea-frozen, land-frozen, once-frozen, or whether processing from previously frozen raw material is acceptable.

Do not assume that one freezing method is automatically better in every case. Product quality depends on the species, handling, freezing process, storage conditions, and how the buyer intends to use the seafood.

The aim is simply to make sure every supplier is pricing the product format you actually need.

Define size using a measurable grading system

“Large,” “medium,” and “small” are weak purchasing specifications unless both sides already use exactly the same grading standard.

Frozen seafood may be graded by individual weight, pieces per kilogram, count per pound, count per kilogram, or another product-specific system. A fish specification might use 300 to 500 g per fish, while shrimp may be traded according to count ranges.

The RFQ should identify both the required range and the measurement method.

For example, do not simply write “21/25 shrimp” without making sure the supplier knows whether the count applies per pound or another unit and whether the count is checked before or after deglazing.

FAO documentation shows that shrimp grading conventions can vary by market, while Codex guidance for quick-frozen shrimp uses actual deglazed weight when verifying a declared count per unit weight.

Where consistency matters, include an acceptable tolerance or ask the supplier to state the grading tolerance used at the factory. This makes the specification easier to verify during inspection.

Separate net seafood weight from glaze

Glaze is one of the most important details to settle before comparing frozen seafood prices.

Glazing is not automatically a quality problem. A layer of ice can protect frozen seafood from dehydration and oxidation during storage. The commercial problem begins when buyers and suppliers use different weight bases.

Suppose Supplier A quotes a 10 kg carton containing 10 kg of net seafood after deglazing, while Supplier B quotes a nominal 10 kg carton whose shipping weight includes a significant amount of glaze. Their apparent price per kilogram cannot be compared directly.

Your RFQ should therefore distinguish among the following:

Specification	What to clarify
Net product weight	Weight of the seafood excluding glaze
Glaze	Target percentage or maximum allowed level
Pack weight	Weight per inner bag or unit
Master carton	Number of packs and total declared contents
Quote basis	Whether the quoted price is based on net seafood weight or another agreed basis

FAO and Codex guidance treat net weight for glazed seafood as excluding the glaze. For procurement purposes, requiring suppliers to state their glaze percentage and net product weight makes price comparisons much more meaningful.

A request for “10 kg frozen fish cartons” is therefore incomplete unless everyone agrees on what that 10 kg represents.

Replace vague quality terms with acceptance criteria

“Premium quality,” “export quality,” and “Grade A” may sound reassuring, but they do not tell a supplier what your company will accept or reject.

Quality specifications work better when they can be inspected or measured.

Depending on the seafood product, relevant criteria may include freezer burn or dehydration, broken pieces, discoloration, foreign matter, bones in a boneless product, parasites, abnormal odour, texture problems, size uniformity, and physical damage.

Codex standards for quick-frozen fish fillets, for example, define defects involving dehydration, foreign matter, parasites, bones in products designated as boneless, objectionable odour or flavour, and flesh abnormalities.

You do not need to copy a Codex specification into every commercial RFQ. Different seafood products and markets require different standards. The practical point is to describe actual defects and tolerances instead of relying on subjective labels.

Treatments and additives should also be covered where relevant. If phosphates or other moisture-retention treatments are acceptable, prohibited, or subject to a limit, state that before the supplier prepares the quotation.

Otherwise, suppliers may quote products with different treatments and therefore different yields, weights, handling characteristics, and production costs.

Tell the supplier where the product is going

A supplier cannot properly assess an export requirement without knowing the destination market.

Seafood import rules, documentation, approved establishments, food-safety controls, labelling, traceability, and certification requirements can vary by country and product.

For seafood entering the United States, for example, the FDA’s Seafood HACCP framework places specific verification responsibilities on importers. FDA guidance describes importer verification procedures that include product safety specifications and affirmative verification that foreign processors comply with applicable seafood HACCP requirements.

An RFQ for an international shipment should therefore identify the destination country and ask for the documents relevant to that destination rather than making a vague request for “export certificates.”

For seafood sourced from Indonesia, buyers may also encounter Indonesian export documentation and certification systems. KKP states that fishery products intended for export can require an SMKHP, or Health Certificate for Quality and Safety of Fish and Fishery Products, according to the requirements of the destination country.

Processor certifications should also be checked against the product being purchased. Asking whether a factory “has HACCP” is less useful than verifying whether its valid certification and product scope cover the seafood being quoted.

Include traceability requirements before comparing suppliers

Some buyers ask for traceability documentation only after they have selected a supplier. That can create problems if the required data were never collected or maintained in the first place.

The level of traceability you need depends on the product and destination market.

Possible requirements include the scientific species name, wild or farmed status, harvest area, fishing gear, vessel or farm information, landing information, processor identification, lot codes, production dates, and records covering later processing or transshipment.

NOAA’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program shows how detailed seafood traceability requirements can become. For species covered by the program, reported information can include species codes, harvest areas, fishing gear, vessel or farm details, landing data, product form, quantity, and records relating to processing or transshipment.

If your customer requires a particular sustainability certification or chain-of-custody system, include that requirement in the RFQ as well. It should not be treated as interchangeable with a general claim such as “sustainable seafood.”

Make packaging and order volume quote-ready

Packaging affects production planning, material costs, carton use, cold-storage handling, retail presentation, and logistics. A supplier cannot quote accurately if the buyer has not decided whether the product will be sold in bulk cartons, foodservice packs, consumer-ready bags, or private-label retail packaging.

State the inner-pack size, number of packs per master carton, packaging material or format where relevant, and whether artwork, labels, barcodes, or private-label production will be required.

Quantity should be equally clear. Specify the order quantity per SKU and indicate whether it is a trial shipment, a one-time purchase, a container order, or part of an expected recurring requirement.

If you expect regular demand, giving the supplier an indicative monthly or annual volume can help distinguish the price for an initial shipment from the commercial terms available at larger volumes.

Use the correct delivery term and named destination

Do not stop at “FOB price” or “CIF price.”

State the Incoterms® 2020 rule together with the named port or place so suppliers know which costs and responsibilities should be included.

There is an important detail for containerized frozen seafood. ICC guidance notes that FOB is generally not appropriate when containerized cargo is handed to a carrier at a container terminal before being loaded onto the vessel. In those circumstances, FCA may be more appropriate.

The right shipping term depends on where delivery to the carrier takes place and whether the transport arrangement is port-to-port or multimodal.

For a frozen seafood RFQ, commercial details should normally cover the requested Incoterm, named place or port, shipment window, currency, payment expectations, and any reefer or logistics requirements the supplier is expected to include.

This makes it easier to compare commercial offers built around the same delivery responsibilities.

Agree on cold-chain and inspection expectations

Frozen seafood specifications should continue through loading and delivery rather than stopping at the factory door.

Codex guidance uses -18°C or colder at the thermal centre as an important reference for quick-frozen fishery products after thermal stabilization. FAO guidance likewise emphasizes maintaining frozen seafood at around -18°C or below during frozen storage and distribution.

Your RFQ can therefore state the required product temperature at loading and whether temperature records or data loggers are required during shipment.

It should also explain how product conformity will be checked. Depending on the order, this may include pre-shipment inspection, representative sampling, deglazing checks, size verification, packaging checks, or comparison with an approved production sample.

If a third party will perform the inspection, clarify who appoints and pays the inspector. If a shipment fails an agreed specification, the purchase agreement should also define how the non-conformity will be handled.

Without an agreed acceptance method, even a detailed specification can be difficult to enforce because the buyer and supplier may measure compliance differently.

Bring the RFQ requirements together

Before asking suppliers for their final quotation, the RFQ should give them the same set of technical and commercial requirements to price.

A practical specification can include:

product and scientific name;
wild-caught or farmed status where relevant;
product form and processing specifications;
IQF, block frozen, or another freezing format;
size or count range and measurement basis;
net weight and glaze requirement;
permitted additives or treatments;
measurable quality and defect requirements;
inner packaging and master-carton configuration;
private-label requirements if applicable;
quantity per SKU;
destination country;
required certification and export documentation;
traceability or sustainability requirements;
requested Incoterms® 2020 rule and named place;
shipment window;
temperature and cold-chain requirements;
inspection and acceptance method;
and any sample approval requirement.

It is also useful to require suppliers to identify any deviations instead of silently quoting something different.

If your requested specification is unavailable, a supplier may reasonably propose another size, species, pack configuration, glaze level, or processing method. The quotation should clearly show that change so you can decide whether the alternative is acceptable.

Write the specification first, then compare the price

The purpose of a frozen seafood RFQ is to remove important variables before price comparison begins.

For buyers working with seafood processors and exporters such as Intan Seafood in Indonesia, a detailed RFQ also gives the production team clearer information about sourcing, processing, grading, packaging, quality control, cold storage, private-label requirements, and export needs before preparing an offer.

A quotation becomes much more useful when every supplier is pricing the same species, product form, size, net seafood weight, packaging, destination, quantity, and delivery responsibilities.

Instead of asking several suppliers, “What is your price for frozen seafood?”, define what you need first. Then ask them to quote that specification and clearly disclose any differences.