Last minute Christmas rush lifts salmon prices.
With only two processing days this week, followed by a shortened three-day week, supply will remain tight until the first full week after New Year. That has set the stage for a sharp rise in prices.
“Farmers are asking for NOK 100 to 105 ($9.80–10.29 / €8.40–8.82). There are fewer slaughter days next week, but there is also a smaller market,” one trader says.
“For 3–6 kg fish it is NOK 100 ($9.80 / €8.40), and for 6+ kg it is NOK 105 ($10.29 / €8.82),” another trader tells SalmonBusiness.
Smoking and advanced processing are largely finished well ahead of Christmas. The next two weeks will be completely dominated by the fresh market.
Low volumes
“I am hearing talk of those prices. We are only buying the bare minimum we need, and everything is back-to-back, meaning purchases are made with a fixed sales agreement. We do not want to be left holding unsold fish this week, especially at these price levels,” an exporter says.
“Customers do not want that much fish, and some are trying to push prices sharply higher next week. But customers are not responding. Suddenly they want prices up at NOK 100 ($9.80 / €8.40). There are huge differences in price from customer to customer. Some, of course, have to have fresh fish,” a buyer says.
“We are really taking it customer by customer. We do not want to sit on too much fish next week. I am guessing NOK 95 to 100 ($9.31–9.80 / €7.98–8.40). We turned down a truck of 3–4 kg fish in Bergen, packed on Monday, at NOK 101 ($9.90 / €8.48),” he says.
Replay
Others are seeing much higher prices.
“For 3–5 kg it is NOK 111 ($10.88 / €9.32) and for 5+ kg NOK 116 ($11.37 / €9.74), delivered Oslo at the moment, and still edging higher,” a large salmon farmer tells SalmonBusiness.
It looks like a repeat of last year. In the final trading week of the year, salmon prices then jumped from NOK 85 to 115 ($8.33–11.27 / €7.14–9.66).
“Just 24 hours ago there were few signs of an increase. Then prices lifted by NOK 10–15 ($0.98–1.47 / €0.84–1.26) on the last residual fish sales here,” another farmer says.
Wide spread
He points out that the past three weeks have shown remarkably large swings in salmon prices.
“From NOK 82 to 100 ($8.04–9.80 / €6.89–8.40), and then down in the low 80s, around NOK 80 ($7.84 / €6.72). Now someone has paid NOK 120 ($11.76 / €10.08) here, while another buyer is at NOK 104 ($10.19 / €8.74). The spread is huge. I think the average for next week will be triple-digit, but it is hard to say exactly where it will settle.”
“Large fish, which many thought could be more of a challenge, are selling like hot cakes. China wants its share. People are slaughtering a lot of fish and are even using the weekends,” he says.
