---Fresh Atlantic salmon prices dropped and market was sluggish going into lent.

Supply is expected to tighten in April for both fresh and frozen products.

Sales post lent have traditionally been low so Chilean farmers schedule production and seed their pens in preparation for slower sales. 

Further restriction of supply has been caused by disease earlier in the year. Shortage of supply is expected to push up fresh prices and keep frozen prices strong.

Prices are expected to remain strong until late may or early June.

Norway is expected to come online with large volumes of fish in July which analysts expect will drive prices down through September and October.

Currently trim D fillets range between $4.90 and $5.25 USD per lb. compared to last year this time where prices were over $6.00 USD per lb.

---Wild salmon inventories are becoming shorter in supply every day as we approach the upcoming wild fisheries.

Buyers may be finding it hard to source good quality sockeye or are shocked at the prices when they do find parcels of fish. A lot of buyers have been looking at wild Alaskan coho salmon as an option.

2013 was a strong production year for Alaskan coho with 33 million fish harvested. Strong imports of Russian sockeye to North America slowed domestic sales of coho creating a surplus for both troll and net caught product.

Early season prices had troll fish in the mid $5.00 range with net fish selling in the high $4.00 range.

There are still strong inventories of both net and troll caught coho available at very attractive prices.

Troll frozen at sea 4-6 lb. fish are available around the $4.75 range, shore frozen trolls in the low $4.00 range and net fish in the mid $3.00 rang Coho presents a great opportunity at the moment for high quality wild caught salmon.

---I attended the 33rd annual International Boston Seafood Show which was held last week. I noticed strong attendance by European and North American visitors.

Diversified Communications report a considerable drop in Chinese representation this year citing the ammonia leak situation in China as the likely cause.

The advancements in the seafood industry stood out at this years show with noticeable advancements in marketing, media usage, selling techniques and product development. While North American and European business seems on the upswing it doesn't appear the same for the Chinese market.

 

---Thanks for joining me for the Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Rob Reierson - “BUY SMART” and “EAT MORE SEAFOOD”

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