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Groundfish Market Report - August
2008
Groundfish prices go up
The upward trend in Alaska
pollack prices is impacting the world groundfish market. Decreasing catch quotas led to a 16%
increase on prices during the first half of the year. Some producers are
reporting a three fold increase in surimi raw
material prices based on Alaska
pollack and are looking for alternative species. Further
price increases are likely for the second half of the year. Price trends in
other frozen groundfish fillet segments are mixed,
but as usual will follow the trend set by the Alaska pollack in due course.
Further price increases in the US market
During the first half of 2008, groundfish prices on
the US
market rose further on the wake of the increase which started at the end of
2007. Cod fillet prices reached US$ 2.58/ lb in June 2008, a 3% drop compared
to the second half of 2007. There is an evident upward trend in the Alaska pollack price which increased from US$ 1.33/lb in
December 2007 to US$ 1.63/lb in June 2008 due to the strong demand for Alaska pollock both in the fillet and surimi
segments along with a lower US catch
quota.
The strong increase in surimi prices in just a few
months, were a result of low Alaska Pollack landings. The market remains
difficult and some buyers have difficulties ensuring their cover. All surimi producers are looking for alternative species
(sardines and whiting) which could bring surimi
prices down again. However, alternative species generally result in a lower
quality surimi product, and only groundfish species are considered to be good providers
for surimi raw material
The 10% decline in US groundfish fillets imports in
the first quarter of 2008 (24 200 tonnes) was brought about by a decline in
imports from the top two suppliers, China (-7% to
18 800 tonnes) and Iceland
(-37.7% to 2 600 tonnes) compared to the same period of 2007. The Icelandic
decline was mainly caused by the sharply reduced cod catch quotas for 2008. An
analogous drop in imports was registered by groundfish
blocks (-9%) when the first three months of this year are compared to the
corresponding period of 2007. China, the
main supplier of groundfish blocks to the USA, reduced
its shipments to this market by 11% compared to last year and whereas other
countries have kept their export levels stable.
Further price hikes likely
Groundfish resources continue to be under stress in
almost all fishing areas. Demand for whitefish products stays strong, which
leads to higher offer prices in all markets. In addition to the traditional
markets – EU and USA
– new markets are emerging, mainly Brazil and Russia.
Report prepared by Paola Sabatini
© FAO GLOBEFISH 2008
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