Bleak December start.
“It is a slow market. The problem is that only the processing industry takes fish, the fresh market is not present,” said an exporter to SalmonBusiness.
“36-39 kroner, depending on size,” he said about the salmon price. “You do not get more than 3.90 euros, max, on the best sizes. And all the way down to 3.60 euros on what is less attractive. Big salmon is really the hardest.”[factbox]
Halved
“We do not buy more than we have to. We do not keep unsold fish. The customers say they will not have as much fish going forward,” he pointed out.
The salmon price has thus halved since the beginning of the year.
“It is the lowest price this year. Customers are full, what should they do? It’s a very limited market. Only the supermarkets will order the fillets for Christmas. The fresh fish counters are closed. So it’s frozen products that are sold now.”
“The Christmas sale has been canceled, to put it bluntly. I do not think that market will reopen before the summer,” he said, before adding: “But we’re alive. We’ve had some good years. We can withstand a little beating.”
Falling down
«39, 40, 41 kroner (EUR 3.7, 3.8, 3.9)», wrote a trader in a text message to iLaks.
“It’s a lot at 38-39 kroner (EUR 3.6-3.7) for 3+ kg, but we have not bought that much,” said another trader.
“It’s not good at all. It has been declining all week,” said a third about the salmon price, refering to a level around 3.8 euros per kilo.
It is far up to the levels in the forward curve of the salmon exchange Fish Pool. Here, an average price for the first quarter of 2021 of just over NOK 55 (5.18 euros) is signaled.
