Sourcing, cold chain & handling.

Ethiopia has no coastline, and its lake fisheries, Tana, Ziway, Hawassa, are under growing pressure, with catches thinning year on year. At the same time, demand from hotels, restaurants and households keeps rising. Local supply simply can’t meet it consistently. Rather than compete for a shrinking resource, we built a reliable bridge to some of the world’s most productive, internationally certified fish sources, so our customers get consistent quality and volume, all year round.

Not originally, and we think it's important to be clear about this. Salmon is a cold-water fish and isn't farmed in Vietnam or anywhere near the tropics. Our salmon is farmed in the cold waters of Norway and Chile, then processed in certified Vietnamese facilities and imported to Ethiopia from Vietnam. Our whitefish, such as pangasius, basa and tilapia, is farmed directly in the Mekong Delta. Every product is traceable to its true origin.

Often better. Our seafood is flash-frozen at the source, within hours of harvest, which locks in quality, texture and nutrition at their peak. So-called “fresh” fish that has travelled long distances may be several days old by the time it’s served. Properly frozen and cold-chain-protected seafood arrives in the condition it was in the day it left the water.

We source only from establishments certified to international standards, including HACCP, ASC and BRC, and approved by the competent food-safety authority in their country of origin. Every consignment travels with the documentation to prove it.

We hold our seafood at a continuous −18°C from the moment it leaves the processing plant, through shipping, customs clearance, and delivery to your door. It’s a true dock-to-door cold chain, with no weak links where quality can slip.

By refrigerated sea container for volume programs, and by air freight via the direct Hanoi–Addis Ababa corridor for premium and time-sensitive supply. Both routes are temperature-controlled end to end.

Every shipment is sourced from certified establishments and accompanied by health/sanitary and origin certificates, and is handled in line with Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) requirements. You get a clear, documented chain of custody from source to delivery.

We run our own cold-chain delivery within Addis Ababa and the surrounding area, refrigerated vehicles direct from our cold store to your kitchen or shop. We are an importer and wholesaler, not an overnight air-to-home courier: deliveries are scheduled, local and cold.

Standing wholesale orders are scheduled on agreed days each week. One-off orders are confirmed with Selam; cut-off times depend on your delivery window and current stock, and are set when we confirm your quote.

For volume orders we arrange refrigerated transport to other cities on request. Tell us the destination and quantity and we'll quote transit time and handling.

Wholesale and standing orders have minimums that vary by species and format. Premium retail quantities are smaller. Selam will confirm the minimum for what you need.

Keep it frozen at −18°C or below until you're ready to use it. Our product arrives frozen solid; move it into your freezer promptly on delivery and it will hold its rated shelf life.

Frozen at −18°C, shelf life is typically several months from the freeze date, which is documented on every consignment. Once thawed, treat it as fresh fish and use within 1–2 days.

We don't recommend refreezing after a full thaw, quality and safety both suffer. Thaw only what you'll use. Portion-frozen formats let you take out exactly what a service needs.

Thaw slowly under refrigeration, ideally overnight, in the original pack or covered. Avoid thawing at room temperature. For a faster result, thaw sealed under cold running water.

Exactly as specified on your order, scaled or unscaled, gutted, filleted, pin-boned, skin-on or skinless, portioned to a target weight, with the glaze percentage you asked for. Every consignment lists its prep state.

Glaze is a thin protective ice layer that prevents freezer burn. We agree the percentage with you up front and state the net (de-glazed) weight, so you always know how much fish you’re actually buying.