Krone Weakness Aligns with Fish Farmers
“The market is sluggish. There’s little movement,” says one exporter.
“They’re talking about sideways movement,” says a fish farmer. He sees prices between NOK 72 and 75 ($6.55/€6.05 and $6.83/€6.30) for fish farmers as achievable.
This aligns with the level maintained for the past five weeks.
Healed Wounds
“There’s a lot of standard fish. We’ve packed some superior quality, but some have healed wounds from jellyfish, and they don’t look great. Previously, ‘ord’ sup (superior) was minus NOK 1.50 ($0.14/€0.13), but now it’s sup minus NOK 5 ($0.46/€0.42) and sup minus NOK 8 ($0.73/€0.67). I’m not sure how this affects the large volumes.”
Several players see prices in the same range.
“We’re seeing a couple of kroner less than what we traded at last week. NOK 72, 73, and 75 ($6.55/€6.05, $6.64/€6.13, and $6.83/€6.30) on purchases,” says an exporter about the weight classes of three to six kilos.
“We’re saved by the currency. There’s plenty of fish out there. Prices would have been lower if the euro hadn’t been high. It has been over NOK 12 ($1.09/€1.01) this week,” he continues.
“And we know more and more [fish] will come throughout August. We haven’t had much standard quality ourselves, but we hear others have quite a bit.”
Holiday
“There is a slight decline,” agrees another buyer. “The euro was all the way up to NOK 12.06 ($1.10/€1.01), but now it’s down to NOK 11.93 ($1.09/€1.00).”
“There’s still a lot of fish being sold at €6.50 ($7.27/NOK 77.38) DDP (duty delivery paid) or even lower. It has to be cleared before buying, and this will naturally set the agenda for next week,” he states.
“There’s a lot of fish, not overwhelming, but prices are down a couple of kroner. In August, the holiday season starts in Europe, and there’s typically a mismatch between buying and selling.”
He acknowledges a price range between NOK 72 and 75 ($6.55/€6.05 and $6.83/€6.30) as a level exporters are willing to lock in.
“It’s a level that seems reasonable. We’re aiming for that range, but we haven’t locked anything in yet,” he says.
The market expects prices to strengthen throughout August. Fish Pool’s August contract is at NOK 80.70/kg ($7.34/€6.78). Looking at the fourth quarter as a whole, the forward price is NOK 85 ($7.74/€7.14).
SalmonBusiness gathers spot prices for salmon every Friday after lunch, tracking fish to be delivered the following week. This process involves contacting multiple entities in the value chain, including farmers, exporters, and importers. At least five independent sources are consulted, though they may not always be publicly disclosed.
