Third consecutive week of price decline.
“It’s miserable. It’s been bad since Monday. More fish, more large fish, and increasing volumes. We really need to start freezing some, I think,” an exporter told SalmonBusiness.
(Editor’s note: Due to a technical fault with our web host, SalmonBusiness was temporarily without its normal security certification on Friday 10 October. The issue has now been resolved and the site is fully available again. We have decided to publish Friday’s salmon price update for the sake of completeness.)
“Prices are actually down quite a bit, especially for large fish. Big salmon have been sold at EUR 5.90, duty paid, meaning around NOK 64–65 ($6.34–$6.44/€5.50–€5.59) in Oslo,” he noted.
Flat prices
“But we’re now seeing increasingly flat prices. In fact, 6+ kg fish are being paid less than 3–6 kg. Buyers in Oslo can get:
2–3 kg: NOK 60 ($5.94/€5.16)
3–6 kg: NOK 65–66 ($6.44–$6.53/€5.59–€5.68)
6+ kg: NOK 64–65 ($6.34–$6.44/€5.50–€5.59)
That means roughly a drop of NOK 4–5 ($0.40–$0.50/€0.34–€0.43) from last Friday.”
“We depend on the market taking fish into storage. At the same time, we’re seeing Chile increase a lot. They’re up by 20 percent.”
Cold storage
Market players need somewhat lower costs before it becomes attractive to freeze fish speculatively.
“Now we’re getting close to putting fish into storage, around six euros. We hope it stabilises at that level before the Christmas market picks up towards the end of November,” said the exporter.
Several sources confirm prices in the mid-60s in Oslo. Transport costs from slaughterhouses to the capital are normally NOK 1–3 ($0.10–$0.30/€0.09–€0.26) per kilo, depending on location.
“That’s right. Sales have been pretty poor. I’ve been at a trade fair in Spain this week, and it’s been quite hard to sell. We’re not alone. Even though total volumes have gone down in recent weeks, prices have also fallen. And it doesn’t look like they’ll rise anytime soon,” said a salmon seller.
“Some of those who bought at low prices over the summer are now starting to thaw their fish. Plus, Canada is starting to ship to the US duty-free. And Chile is attacking us in China. There are still transport problems from the north, and that certainly doesn’t help. We just have to buy and sell at the right prices. The market is the boss.”
Tough week
The market picture is confirmed by several sources.
“I’m sitting here discussing with a farmer now. Another tough week with falling prices. Customers are referring to offers matching what you’ve already heard, yes. Seems like a flat price on 4+,” said one buyer.
“Yes, it’s going down, and it has to, if we’re to have any hope of making money. A lot of big fish next week,” said another.
An exporter pointed to a slightly higher price level once freight costs are considered.
“NOK 64, 65 and 66 ($6.34, $6.44 and $6.53/€5.50, €5.59 and €5.68) for 5+ kg fish to farmers in the north. And 6+ is hard to move. You end up selling to the processing industry in Europe. And if you’re sending it to industry, it can’t be priced higher than the 5–6 kg range. In reality, it probably should be lower, but we’ll never get that through with the farmers,” he said.
