--- The Chilean Algal Bloom Epidemic has tied up News Headlines for several weeks now, as salmon life loss reached over 23 million fish. But what does the loss of farmed Chilean Atlantic and Coho Salmon mean for the WILD market? The brunt of the product shortage will be seen in fresh sales during June and July when the lost salmon would have hit the market during wild salmon sales. Buyers should expect Fresh, Wild salmon prices to spike, simultaneously delaying the arrival Salmon hitting the freezers. In the twice-frozen market, large Chinese suppliers will only guarantee salmon pricing for a 2 week period for fear of how volatile the market could become. The fish loss in Chile is devastating for the Chilean fishing industry, BUT it is less than 5 percent of the global salmon supply. The 100,000 metric tonnes of culled atlantic salmon are likely to push pricing up merely from HYPE and not necessarily from supply shortages. In saying that, our advice to buyers would still be to secure WILD Chum salmon now before pricing picks up, as there could be a 15 - 20 cent price increase hitting the wild markets. --- Our FIRST TradexLIVE offer of the week is for 1-3lb Sinbad Platinum Sockeye Salmon Fillets. These are premium #1 quality, IVP, 2016 Canadian production and are available in Seattle for $5.50/lb USD. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. --- Let's go over to Kyla now for a look at the upcoming Oregon Pink Shrimp Fishery. --- After the highest 3-state total EVER, and after 5 consecutive years of near-50 million pound landings in Oregon, Pink Shrimp harvests beginning on April 1st this year will have some tough shoes to fill. Coming into the new season, Age 2 and 3 class shrimp will be scarce, indicating a shortage on larger sizes like the 250-350 count. Biomass analysis from 2015 show an abundance of Age-1's, forecasting the predomenance of the 350 - 500 count this season; HOWEVER, the shrimp mature rapidly, so we should see some 250-350 count trickle in by June. Buyers should be cautious of inferior quality product, in both flavour and grade. Some offers on the West Coast for 250 - 350 count shrimpmeat have been downgraded to a "D" grade because it is peeled from block frozen raw materials, producing a twice frozen, shell-ridden, broken product. Product like this can be found in the high $4.00 range. One step further on the quality scale is PUD shrimp from India, which is similar in count but far more inferior as it lacks flavour, colour, and crispness. Indian shrimp will typically be disguised in buffet applications and can be found in the mid $3.00 range. So for the 2016 West Coast Shrimp season, seek only HIGH quality products, prepare for less supply in the market than last year, and anticipate shortages on the larger sizes by making purchases now. --- Our SECOND TradexLIVE offer of the week keeps in theme with 250-350 count Cooked and Peeled IQF Shrimpmeat. These are #1 quality in our Sinbad Platinum brand, early 2016 production from Oregon and are available in Seattle for $5.05/lb USD. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. --- Back to you, Rob. ----Thank you for joining us for the Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Robert Reierson - “BUY SMART” and “EAT MORE SEAFOOD

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