… just not for the biggest fish.
“We haven’t taken anything in yet. It’s just chaos, an exporter told SalmonBusiness during the lunch hours Friday.
For the fourth week in a row, there’s a detectable jump in the export price of salmon, and it’s creating a stir and scepticism in the market.
“Customers are in shell shock. They wonder what’s happening in Norway and why prices are rising. Everyone’s expecting price levels of around 55 kroner (EUR 5.7),” an exporter said.
Shell-shocked
“It’s as slow as it’s been the last half-year. The only signal we’re getting is that fish-farmers are trying to raise the price on the three-to-six (kilogram) size. There’s pressure on the six-pluses,” an importer said.
Eight industry sources SalmonBusiness talked to on Friday revealed the following salmon prices for next week:
- 2 to 3 kg, EUR 5.9 to 6.0
- 3 to 4 kg, EUR 6.7 to 7.1
- 4 to 5 kg, EUR 7.0 to 7.3
- 5 to 6 kg, EUR 6.9 to 7.3
- 6-plus kg, EUR 6.6 to 6.8
“We haven’t had concrete prices on the table yet. Many still have big fish left. I believe the 3-5 (kg size) will go up a little,” an exporter said.
Surprise
One exporter said he is “very surprised” and another exporter described the situation like this:
“As long as the thermometer shows minus 15 to 20 and the harvest is like it’s been, it isn’t very surprising. Had you asked me one-and-half months ago I would have said, “Never in the world”.”
