(THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - After five years in Thailand, the Russian-Thai company Caviar House is now gearing up for the kingdom's first locally produced caviar from its Thai Sturgeon Farm in Hua Hin.

Sturgeon breeding farms operate in Russia, Israel, Uruguay, Hong Kong, Vietnam and even the United States, but not all of them are caviar-oriented. At the moment, the biggest wholesale customers are China and Japan. In the next few years, once the fish reach puberty and the caviar can be extracted for caviar. Hua Hin will be among the key producers in Asia

Black caviar is produced only by the sturgeon family of fish living in the Caspian Sea and the Volga and Amur rivers. However, the very high demand for this delicate product coupled with the development of techniques has allowed sturgeon, sterlet and even beluga fish to be farmed as well as for the production of new hybrids between the fish family members resulting in new and different caviar tastes.

Though the farm has not yet produced any caviar, the firm has already introduced four varieties of roe sourced from their partner farms in Russia and China that use the same breeding methods and farming know-how.

Caviar House products include the smooth and delicate Classic Sturgeon Caviar from Siberian sturgeon fish; the intense and flavourful Premium Sturgeon Caviar from Russia; the firm and buttery Royal Oscietra Caviar from beluga-sturgeon hybrid fish and the Beluga Caviar, which is the most sought-after among the black caviar types.

Prices range from Bt1,500 (S$60.24) to Bt15,000 (S$602.43) depending on size (30 grams to 200 grams), and grades.

For more information, visit www.CaviarHouse.co.th. Call (082) 5258887 and (090) 7900997.