--- Chum Salmon inventories are beginning to clear out after decent volumes hit cold storages early in the season. The 2015 Alaska-Wide Chum Salmon harvest was 113.2 million lbs, following a slower year in 2014 at 93.7 million lbs harvested. Last year was strong in British Columbian waters too, with over 2.2 million Chum Salmon landed. 2014 was a tough year in B.C., with only 673,000 chum salmon caught. A short market in 2014 led many customers to Pink Salmon, an affordable substitute for chum, leading to stockpiles of Chums at the end of last year. Some suppliers are desperate to clean out inventories to make more room for Roe Herring, which is commerically fished in March when the Roe matures. The Chum market opened strong in September last year, with 6-9lb H&G Semi-Brites at $1.80/ LB. Prices have dropped about 10 cents / month since then, presenting a buyers' market right now at $1.35/ LB for the same 6-9s. ---Our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for 1-3lb IVP Chum Salmon Fillets. These are boneless, skin-on, GMC semi-brites, and are packed 1x25lb in our premium quality Sinbad Platinum brand. We have 10,000 lbs available in Seattle for $3.40 / LB. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. --- A Cold Current sweeping through China has disrupted aquaculture farms from the Northern provinces right down to Hong Kong. Qingdao's thermometers reached minus 17 degrees Celsius last week, the lowest temperature recorded in over 50 years. Tilapia suppliers fear that the cold snap has killed large volumes of fish and is poorly timed right before their Spring Holiday closures in February. Typically only raised in subtropical or tropical areas, Tilapia are very susceptible to temperature drops. As a result, pricing is expected to RISE after Chinese New Year. 3-5oz IVP Tilapia fillets are in the $2.20 - $2.25 range right now in Seattle, but buyers should prepare for a 10 cent price hike in early March. ----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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