--- As people crawl out from their Holiday Turkey Comas and realize that Lent is fast approaching, buyers are beginning a last-minute scramble. The market is still hot on Pacific Cod, but locating product can be challenging. Welcome news arrived last week after the first landings of A-Season Pacific Cod produced larger-sized fish than anticipated. One plant stated earlier this month that if the fish generated anything under an 8oz fillet, their plan would be to sell the fish Headed & gutted instead. Fortunately for the short market, last week's average was a 4.7lb round. Fish this size has a 41 percent recovery, producing 30.8 oz skinless boneless fillets, which when divided into 2 fillets will fit into the 8-16oz fillet size. Prices are not yet determined, but our advice to buyers would be to jump on any offers you receive as back orders from a several-month dry spell have accumulated. ---Our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for 4-8oz Single Frozen Pacific Cod Fillets. These are Boneless, Skinless, Shatterpacked, trawl caught in Alaska, and available for $2.95 / LB FOB Seattle. Click or Tap the Icon above to view this offer. --- The price gap between Atlantic Cod and Haddock has possibly reached it's peak, but is it enough to bring old Haddock customers back? Surprisingly, even the current price floor on Haddock hasn't stimulated demand. Mid-season, the Haddock quota in the Atlantic increased by 25 percent, but fishing was still poor. The main season will start in March, at which point the boats will know if they can catch enough fish to decide where pricing will go. Current pricing in Boston on Haddock loins is $2.78 / LB and skinless fillets are around the $2.73 mark. To contrast, Atlantic Cod has crept up to between $3.50 and $3.65 / LB in Boston. Atlantic Cod harvests are projected to remain stable year-to-year at 1.29 million metric tonnes. Both whitefish species react the same when cooking and are easy substitutes - so at a 25 percent price difference, why isn't this product moving? When Haddock hit a price ceiling customers switched BACK to Cod again - market adaptability is difficult once customers have developed product loyality or familiarity. Chinese Plants have predicted a 25 percent drop in Atlantic Cod raw materials after Chinese New Year, at which point Lent will have thinned inventory levels and the market will be ready to start fresh. ----Thank you for joining me for the Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Kyla Ganton - “BUY SMART” and “EAT MORE SEAFOOD

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