Significant increase after a week of logistical problems.
“It’s crawled up toward NOK 60 ($5.82/€5.04) for 4–5 kilo fish,” a farmer tells SalmonBusiness.
“NOK 58, 59 and 61 ($5.62, $5.71 and $5.93 / €4.87, €4.96 and €5.12) for 3–4, 4–5 and 5–6 kilo fish. And we’ve got NOK 52 ($5.04/€4.37) for 2–3 kilo. But I don’t have anything over 6 kilos yet. We’re waiting a bit on the large fish market, but it’s been over NOK 70 ($6.79/€5.88),” he says.
That represents a marked rise from last Friday’s quotes, when much of the fish was sold below NOK 50 ($4.85/€4.20) per kilo.
Rebound
“It’s a nice rebound. And I think this is the direction we’re heading. The extraordinary supply should calm down considerably, even if growth conditions are still good in parts of the north.”
He points to several short-term price drivers.
“Bad weather and cancellations, a bit of psychology, some public holidays in Poland and Italy—but the trend is clear. Prices three weeks from now will be a few kroner higher than today—as long as biology stays normal. As long as nothing unusual happens,” he adds.
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Exporters also report a price increase, though not as steep.
“I’m hearing NOK 55 ($5.34/€4.62) for 3–4 and NOK 57 ($5.53/€4.79) for 4–5 kilo. That’s what it’s trading at now,” says one trader.
“But I think it could risk falling. There’s a hell of a lot of freezing going on. Everyone who can freeze is freezing. They’re freezing at NOK 55 ($5.34/€4.62). There’s a lot of feeding going on at the moment. Seems like there were a few cancellations this week.”
Lift
“There’s a certain positivity in the market, and we’re seeing a slight lift in prices. At the moment, levels are around NOK 54–55 ($5.23–$5.34 / €4.54–€4.62) per kilo, with some up to NOK 58 ($5.62/€4.87). The big fish is fetching slightly higher prices, between NOK 62 and 65 ($6.01–$6.30 / €5.21–€5.46),” says one exporter.
Last week marked a new annual high for salmon exports, measured by volume. For the second week in a row, more than 35,000 tonnes of salmon were exported, converted to round weight.
“Despite the price increase, volumes remain high, and there are significant challenges related to transport—especially from Northern Norway. This affects logistics and may create unpredictability moving forward,” he says.
A significant price rise is not expected to last long, however. According to Fish Pool’s forward curve, spot prices are expected to bottom out in early October.
