There have been nearly two months of continuous decline in salmon prices. But things are now looking somewhat brighter.
“Up. Helped by the currency,” an insider at a medium-sized farming company tells SalmonBusiness. He gives the following spot prices for the coming week:
2-3 kg: NOK 65.00 ($6.05/€5.59)
3-4 kg: NOK 72.00 ($6.70/€6.19)
4-5 kg: NOK 74.00 ($6.88/€6.38)
5-6 kg: NOK 76.00 ($7.07/€6.54)
6+ kg: NOK 78.00 ($7.25/€6.71)
“That’s one to two kroner too high,” counters an exporter firmly.
He is supported by another in the same trade:
“NOK 64.00-65.00 ($5.95-$6.05/€5.50-€5.59) for 2-3 kg, around NOK 70.00-71.00 ($6.51-$6.60/€6.02-€6.11) for 3-4 kg, NOK 71.00-72.00 ($6.60-$6.70/€6.11-€6.19) for 4-5 kg. I guess 5-6 kg will come up to NOK 74.00-75.00 ($6.88-$6.97/€6.38-€6.47). And then there’s the tricky one, 6+ kg, which there will be more of, especially in the south. Today I guess we will have to pay NOK 77.00-78.00 ($7.17-$7.25/€6.68-€6.71) for that. We won’t buy any 6+ that we haven’t sold because we know more of it is coming next week.”
Still, this is enough for a price increase from last Friday.
“Up a bit. A couple of kroner up. When it gets up here, there will be resistance in the market. And then it will be a yo-yo price. Demand is ‘dead’, we have to work for every kilo. It doesn’t sell itself,” says the exporter.
There is an expectation in the market that the price curve is near the bottom. Fish Pool’s August contract is currently at NOK 80.85 ($7.52/€6.95) per kilo (fish packed and delivered in Oslo).
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.
