--- --- This is Rob Reierson and here is the seafood news for Monday October 12th, 2015. --- Current season Alaska Pollock continues to come in small, creating a strong Mince market. The fish size has been between 500 and 750 grams, ideal for mince products. The market is inundated right now on 2-4oz Pollock fillets as a result of the smaller raw material, but reserved interest has kept offers sluggish. Many Alaskan suppliers opt to produce H&G Fish for export to China, instead of filleting for the domestic North America market. on the larger sizes like 4-6oz, Shatterpack fillets are $2.50 / LB, and IQF Fillets $1.85 / LB FOB Seattle. --- Supply of Alaska Pollock fillet Pin Bone Out Fillet Block product has come up short due to an increase in surimi production, another factor of smaller sized fish. Other constraints on Block product have been the production of Whole Round for Africa, XL Fillet Blocks, and XL Fillets packs, which have consumed a disproportionate volume of the Total Allowable Catch. Ocean Run sized Block fillets with mostly 2-4s are $1.60 / LB. --- An additional constraint on already short Pollock inventories is the poor fishing season for Pacific Whiting. According to the Pacific Fisheries Information Network, as of October 8th, the trawl fishery had captured just shy of 132,000 metric tonnes of Pacific Whiting. The Allocation for Whiting was set at 297,000 metric tonnes, ending on December 31st 2015 - which leaves about 56 percent of the quota untouched. Whiting is commonly used for Surimi production, so buyers should expect current inventories of Alaska Pollock products to be tightened, especially Surimi. This is expected to roll over into the 2016 “A” Season for Alaska Pollock as well. --- Our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for 2-4oz Alaska Pollock Fillets - #1 Quality, 2014 production, and Shatterpacked. We have an incredible clean-out price of $1.30 / LB on 31,725 lbs in Seattle. Contact your Tradex Representative for further details. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. --- In other news, Brazil’s weak economy has begun to impact seafood markets globally. Since the beginning of the year, Brazil’s “Real” have become one of the fastest declining currencies in major economies. Some market analysts think that economic growth will not return to Brazil until 2017. Brazil is the largest market for Portuguese salted cod, and their unstable economy has deterred Portuguese salters away to avoid risk. Many Portuguese processors are holding large raw material inventories and will not be salting this year. As an alternative, Atlantic and Pacific Cod Producers will seek Chinese buyers for further processing on value added products. Any additional supply of Atlantic Cod raw materials to Chinese processing plants would be welcome as they scramble to fill even small orders before Chinese New Year. ----Thank you 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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