Reduced demand at the start of November.
“We’ve had a rough week behind us with a fairly steep price drop. And many believe we should compensate for that. The market is now buying at a considerable discount, five to six kroner lower than what they bought at last Friday. They aren’t motivated to pay last week’s prices,” one exporter told SalmonBusiness.
“We missed that Catholic countries have holidays (All Saints’ Day – editor’s note), with days off on both Friday and Monday in Poland and Southern Europe. These are major production countries, and it has been challenging to get them to respond to offers.”
“You can see that the average weight is changing. There’s less of the larger fish available. The main volume is strongly concentrated in the industry sizes (3-6 kg),” he adds.
Losses
Weather and logistics challenges also play a role in price formation.
“There’s little salmon left from the end of this week. There have been several cancellations due to bad weather. The 2-5 kg sizes have been heavy and sold with some significant losses, so the price might go down a bit. There’s a shortage of 5+ kg fish, so we may see an increase here,” says a trader.
He mentions prices, for the producers, as follows:
3-4 kg at NOK 65-66 ($5.92-6.02/€5.40-5.47)
4-5 kg at NOK 67-68 ($6.10-6.19/€5.56-5.64)
5-6 kg at NOK 75-80 ($6.83-7.28/€6.23-6.64)
Freeze
Another exporter believes that buyers are currently controlling the market.
“The market doesn’t freeze in supplies if the price isn’t right. Not all of this fish needs to be fresh. You lose 5-6 kroner per kilo on each shipment,” he tells SalmonBusiness. “What we’re putting out is:
2-3 kg at NOK 55 ($5.01/€4.57)
3-4 kg at NOK 60 ($5.46/€4.98)
4-5 kg at NOK 62 ($5.64/€5.14)
5-6 kg at NOK 67 ($6.10/€5.56)
“A lot of fish is being taken up. There’s a bit of an issue with jellyfish and other such complications.”
“Is forced harvest due to lice still a problem?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that. They’ve mostly got that under control. But we are concerned about the jellyfish situation. We don’t like the current situation. It’s a bit unfortunate.”
Nervous
“Prices are weakening a little bit,” they say. Just under 70 kroner. Perhaps NOK 67-68 ($6.10-6.19/€5.56-5.64). Around there,” says another exporter.
He confirms what all other sources in today’s article are saying: Salmon prices are weakening.
“It’s a downturn. People are starting to get nervous about the jellyfish. But there’s a fair amount of fish available. Good availability. And that’s how it should be at this time of year. The temperatures are good, and there’s good growth. I’m guessing prices will settle in the latter half of the 60-kroner range. I think that’s where it will land. But we’ll see.”
SalmonBusiness gathers spot prices for salmon every Friday after lunch, tracking fish to be delivered the following week. This process involves contacting multiple entities in the value chain, including farmers, exporters, and importers. At least five independent sources are consulted, though they may not always be publicly disclosed.
