Shadowing Practice: Why Stockfish Is So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Business Insider - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
Almost everyone at this market in Lagos, Nigeria is here to buy stockfish.
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Almost everyone at this market in Lagos, Nigeria is here to buy stockfish.
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A coveted source of protein, it sells for $65 per kilogram, seven times as much as other popular fish like croaker.
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But no one in Nigeria can actually produce this unique dried cod.
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The fish comes from thousands of miles away in Norway, where entire operations are dedicated to supplying the stockfish demand in Nigeria.
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It's 99.9% for Nigeria.
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A full drying rack like this is worth over $500,000.
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But because the supply from Norway is volatile, prices fluctuate, And sellers here in Nigeria have no control over how much fish gets here.
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So how did stockfish first connect these two economies?
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And why is it so expensive?
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We add our stockfish.
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The stockfish is very important to Nigerian cuisine because of the texture
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and flavor it gives to the dish especially when you want to have that local smell, local aroma to your food.
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This is the fishing village of Hennigsvar in Lofoten, Norway.
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It's the ideal location for drying stockfish.
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Cod migrates here at the start of the winter.
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After it's caught, the fish is graded by size and tied to be hung on racks, heads and bodies separately.
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The weather here is cold, dry, and reaches minus 10 to minus 15 degrees Celsius with windchill.
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It's so cold that there are no insects that could eat the fish, but not cold enough to freeze the fish.
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And it dries the fish so much that after a few weeks, Not even birds are interested in it anymore.
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These racks have the capacity for as much as 4,000 metric tons of stockfish.
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It's a way of conservation.
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You know the yield is 23%.
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So that means that if you take out all the water, it's a way of preserving the proteins.
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Exposed in the freezing wind, It takes three months for cod to fully dry and become stockfish.
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Once that happens, stockfish can be stored for up to three years, making it an extremely valuable resource.
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This is a longer method than using salt or artificial dryers, which can dry cod in a week.
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But the long wait pays off.
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Companies like Nora's buy fresh cod for 52 kronor, a little less than $5 per kilogram from fishers.
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Once dried, its bulk price is around 150 kronor per kilogram.
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In Nigeria, it won't be sold in kilograms, but in 30 kilogram bags.
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This helps after two months approximately.
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We can take it indoor after dry it and we
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press it into 30 kilo jute bags and ship in 40 feet containers and it all goes to Nigeria.
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Up until 60 years ago, the word stockfish meant little to nothing in Nigeria.
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But after the Nigerian Civil War killed more than a million people, mostly of starvation in the late 60s, everything changed.
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Among the emergency supplies other countries sent to Nigeria to combat the famine, Norway sent stockfish.
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While Norwegians still eat it in restaurants now, almost 100% of the stockfish produced in Norway is headed to Nigeria,
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especially for home cooking.
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In 2015, Nigeria imported $8.94 million worth of stockfish from Norway.
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selling stockfish from who is imported.
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And we sell as much as we bring.
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Nonso is a stockfish dealer.
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He's spent 20 years in the business, going from retailing to dealing directly with imports.
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He sells his stockfish at the Otto Whitesand Market in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Stockfish comes in this very special.
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So there is a health aspect of it, which is also into different types.
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There's one that comes with jaw, there's one that comes without jaw.
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There's also a type of different hairs.
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So the same way it is different, same, the prices are different.
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So in that, in that mix, there are two types of meats.
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There are the one with that skin and the one with skin.
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Then aside from that one too, there is also the long one.
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That one also is more expensive.
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And even in that body there are four different types.
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The hot and humid climate makes it impossible for stockfish to be dried here.
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so importing it is the only option.
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The stockfish takes six weeks to get to Nonso from Norway.
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But those prices will not be the same tomorrow.
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Prices fluctuate depending on the season, and because it's a more convenient trade currency than Norwegian krönor, prices are set in US dollars.
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They depend on the naira-to-dollar exchange rate of the day.
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And even then, there are two different exchange rates – the official one, set by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the black market rate.
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Black market rates, although unofficial, often give a better picture of the real market conditions.
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Most of us end up going for black market because it can be in Q4 dollar for months.
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In Nigeria, these two exchange rates are very different.
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Which one you pick to sell your stockfish can make or break a business like Nonsos.
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That's a major challenge in every business in this country.
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The restrictions and access to government.
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The difference between government rents and black markets over 100.
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That's a lot of money.
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So it makes the business difficult.
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It also makes it expensive for consumers.
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So it's a very big challenge.
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But for now, for what I do with this, I don't have much option.
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I'm happy to continue our business.
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In 2021, to encourage local fish farming,
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the Nigerian government added stockfish to a list of over 40 items that importers have to buy with actual US dollars,
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not naira converted into the same amount.
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For Nonso, this made trading stockfish even more challenging.
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15 years ago, a paninox starfish starfish could be around 7-8 million nair.
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But today, a container of starfish would work between 75-80,000 dollars.
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In current black market streams, gazelles are bought from 17 million to 15 million.
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There are challenges of assessing forests through central bank, no matter where people have led the business.
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The rise in energy costs has also made the operations in Norway more expensive to run, and that also reflects on the final price at the market here.
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I really can't place a time frame to how long I've been cooking stock fish.
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I grew up knowing stock fish.
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I learned to use stock fish also in cooking the local dishes, the local delicacies, especially our soup and stews.
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Here is our seafood rocker. in all its beauty.
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How lovely it looks.
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First of all you feed with the eyes.
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The burst of flavors, the taste, all combining to give this wonderful aroma.
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Back in Norway, the Nigerian market is too important to lose. or the US.
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So it's always Nigerians who like this.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with this video about the high demand and unique production of stockfish enhances your English speaking practice through real-world contexts. By exploring topics such as international trade and cultural significance, you can improve your vocabulary and grasp of intricate sentence structures. This video provides a rich linguistic backdrop where learners can utilize the shadowing technique, which involves mimicking the speaker to build fluency and intonation. Practicing with authentic content like this not only boosts confidence but also gives insight into diverse cuisines and economies, enriching your language learning experience.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Analyzing the speaker’s language from the video can help you internalize key grammatical structures. Consider the following:
- Usage of Comparatives: The phrase “seven times as much as other popular fish” introduces a comparative structure. Practicing with comparatives can deepen your conversational skills, enabling you to make comparisons in discussions.
- Passive Voice: The speaker says, “it is dried,” showcasing the passive voice. This structure is useful for focusing on the action rather than the subject, making your speech more varied and sophisticated.
- Temporal Clauses: Phrases like “After it’s caught” use temporal clauses to indicate time. Incorporating these into your speech can enhance your ability to narrate events clearly, a crucial skill in storytelling.
- Descriptive Language: The phrase “the weather here is cold, dry, and reaches minus 10 to minus 15 degrees Celsius” illustrates how descriptive language enriches communication. Using adjectives effectively can paint vivid pictures in conversations.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Paying attention to pronunciation is vital, and this video presents certain challenges:
- “Stockfish”: The blend of consonants can be tricky. Make sure to pronounce each sound distinctly, as it’s critical for clarity.
- “Cod” vs. “Caught”: The distinction between these words may confuse some learners. Practice emphasizing the “o” in “cod” while shortening it in “caught” for clarity.
- Varied Accents: The speaker’s accent may differ from other English varieties. Listening closely can help improve your adaptability in understanding different English pronunciations.
Utilizing the shadowspeak method with this video can smooth out these pronunciation challenges, making you more adaptable in conversations.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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