Norway salmon price slide continues

Many people had expected the slide to pull up in week 29, but prices are continuing to decline to levels not seen for three years.

The prices listed by the monitoring organisation Statistics Norway are averages, so some salmon will be selling for less while larger fish prices will be higher, but not by much. Some smaller salmon is being priced at below NOK 50 per kilo.

Statistics Norway said the fresh salmon price in week 30 was NOK 65.10 per kilo (£4.79), down 4.4% on the previous seven day period.

With such prices it is hardly surprising that the market is awash with fish. The export total 26,055 tons – up by 6.7% on the previous week when the figure was 24,412 tonnes. It is also the highest export total so far this year.

While the heatwave in Europe has not helped, some market observers are becoming worried by the decline because it means companies are producing at a loss. This will not show through until the accounts are published next year.

They suggest that too much fish is being produced at a time while many people are on holiday. There is a growing argument for a reduction in production while the current low price levels persist.

Others argue that low prices are common at this time of year and will pick up again in the autumn.

Frozen salmon prices were also down in week 30 – from NOK 76.83 to NOK 70.76 per kilo (£5.20) with the export total up by 112 tons to 718 tons.