While the price of the biggest fish rises, that for the smallest sizes has dropped a little as a consequence of gill disease problems in Western Norway.
“This week prices have fluctuated a little, and stabilized at a slightly lower level. But the price of big fish, on the other hand, has been affected by increased interest in Asia”, a Norwegian exporter told SalmonBusiness.
“When it comes to next week, I foresee a big increase in the harvesting of small fish, especially in Hordaland, Norway. There is a problem with gill disease and mortalities. Also, there is a warning about large quantities of small fish under 3 kg next week. This leads to a depressed price development for salmon between 1-3 kg. The ones at the 3-5 kg level are stable, but there’s a little upward development on the ones of 5-6 kg and even more on the ones over 6 kg,” he continued.
- 2-3 kg: 40-43 NOK
- 3-4 kg: 46-49 NOK
- 4-5 kg: 48-51 NOK
- 5-6 kg: 50-52 NOK
- 6+ kg: 52-56 NOK
Another exporter emphasized the impact of small volumes when explaining salmon prices.
The market is playing its cards close to its chest this Friday, just like last week. When SalmonBusiness tried to collect the salmon prices around 12pm, we were told to call back at 1:30pm. Then we were told to call back around 14:30.
“The prices are very, very uncertain. As far as we can see, they are stable, maybe a little up on the salmon over 4 kg,” a purchaser told SalmonBusiness around 12:30pm.