Two month long salmon price decline ends

The long decline in fresh salmon prices may be over. The latest figures from Statistics Norway show they rose last week for the first time in more than two months.

The figure for week 36 was NOK 76.81 per kilo (£5.76), an increase of 2.2% on the previous week. Export volumes are continuing to run at a high level, totalling 25,523 tonnes, slightly higher than in week 35.

Fresh salmon prices reached their peak towards the end of March when they hit NOK 122 per kilo (£9.15), but then they started to go into decline around the end of June.

The surge in export volumes is encouraging and almost certainly down to strong demand from the United States which is now Norway’s fastest growing market for seafood.

Demand for frozen salmon also remains firm, increasing by 17.6% to 527 tonnes, while the price rose by 5.9% to NOK 96.35 per kilo (£7.23).

Only time will tell if these latest figures are a blip or the start of a sustained recovery. With the all-important Christmas period now just over three months away, demand is expected to gather pace.

However, there are continuing reports that high seafood prices earlier in the year, with salmon a particular problem, have led to a sharp decline in consumer demand.

UK retailers in particular have reported a fall in sales of both fresh and frozen seafood in recent weeks, suggesting that British shoppers are looking for cheaper forms of protein. The UK remains top of the list for food inflation.