“We harvest more fish than we can sell”

New setback for salmon prices.

“It’s a difficult week again. Challenging market. Prices on the way down again. A fairly dramatic fall,” says an exporter to SalmonBusiness.

“We harvest more fish than we can sell. And I’m afraid we will continue. The fish grows well in the sea. At the same time, lower prices are not negative. Then we can build new markets.” [factbox]

He believes the salmon buyers’ negotiating position has been significantly strengthened.

“The farmers have had all the power on price for the past four years. So it seems now that buyers around the world have gained more power over the price. There is a completely different climate out there. A change of attitude. You can’t push customers up on price. A change of pace, I would say. It’s a battle for customers, much more than it’s been for years.”

“We’re taken to by surprise. I do not see any improvement in the next five to six weeks.”

A picture with a fall in prices is repeated by several sources.

“There is pressure on the prices, but I haven’t got anything locked yet,” says a trader.

“I’m trading down a bit,” says one importer – about both price and volume.

“There’s one thing that’s essential next week – it’s the hurricane. That means no one wants to export to Florida. It will disrupt imports to the United States. The fish is rather placed in Europe,” he predicts.

The tropical storm “Dorian” is expected to hit the Bahamas, an hour-long boat trip from Florida, on Friday.

SalmonBusiness’ industry sources refer to the following farmgate prices for salmon to be delivered next week:

  • 2-3 kilograms NOK 35-37 (€3.5-3.7)
  • 3-4 kilograms NOK 40-41 (€4.0-4.1)
  • 4-5 kilograms NOK 43-44 (€4.3-4.4)
  • 5-6 kilograms NOK 45-47 (€4.5-4.7)
  • 6+ kilograms NOK 55-60 (€5.5-6.0)
Newsletter

Related Articles