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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/112398
Market Report Uncertainty abounds in shrimp markets Salmon report (Continued from page 20) Success in India overshadowed by EMS, CVD issues believes China���s market share does not even represent 1 percent of the opportunity in the market because of the rapid growth of middle class consumers looking for high-quality products. China, for example, imported a total of 12,000 MT of salmon in 2011, but based on a growth rate of 14 percent, this ���gure has been forecast to reach 120,000 MT by 2020. Te SSPO expects this year���s exports to the Far East to continue to follow the growth trend and outstrip last year���s earnings. Tis will be assisted by a good supply of Scottish ���sh. ��� Jason Holland U ncertainty over Tailand���s disease problem and the outcome of the U.S. countervailing duty (CVD) dispute (see Top Story, page 28) are putting the shrimp industry on edge, but one thing the industry is certain of is prices are going higher. With a potential downturn of 30 percent in Tailand���s shrimp output due to early mortality syndrome (EMS), all eyes are on the world���s largest shrimpproducing nation to see how bad things will be. It won���t be until May or June that the picture becomes clearer. Te uncertainty over the CVD case is shrimp sending shrimp prices higher, and that will continue at least through the start of the second quarter, says the CEO of one large shrimp supplier. ���Te market is already moving and it���s going to accelerate into the second quarter. Everybody���s paying at or above what they���re selling it for,��� the CEO says. ���Te market is not long. Inventories, U.S. imports the second half of last year, dropped dramatically and so the European ���at���sh volumes look promising Plaice stock at highest level on record S ustainable plaice stocks, e���ective sole management and increasing supply of megrim are positive indicators for southern Europe���s ���at and white���sh sectors, despite variable consumption and price patterns. In its Fin���sh Study 2012, the Brusselsbased EU Fish Processors and Traders Association recorded plaice volumes up around 2 percent, but assured the catch could be higher in line with the EU���s 10 percent quota increase for this year. Backing these ���ndings, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) 22 SeaFood Business ���at���sh recorded a notable increase in plaice stocks not seen in Western Channel waters since 2004. Te European Commission predicts plaice landings will increase in coming years as its discard-reduction policy takes e���ect. ICES found that Spain accounted for 54 percent of Europe���s plaice, sole, cod and hake landings in 2011. Under the EU���s multi-annual plans, 230,000 metric tons (MT) of plaice and March 2013 35,000 MT of sole can be caught by European vessels operating in the North Sea where stock levels have been maintained satisfactorily, enabling both species to be ���shed at maximum sustainable yield throughout 2013. Plaice stocks in this region are ���currently at the highest level on record,��� according to the EU. Spanish households bought 973,420 kilograms (kg) of fresh sole and 25,230 kg of frozen sole from ���shmongers in June 2012 (latest data) at an average ���7.89 ($10.58) and ���7.43 ($9.96) per kg, respectively, according U.S. inventory position is not as strong as it was at this time last year.��� Prices in early February for farmed, raw P&D;, tail-on white shrimp from Asia were around $4.25 a pound for 41-45s to $7.50 for 13-15s. P&D; tail-o��� shrimp from Asia was running from $4.90 for 71-90s to $5.70 for 16-20s. Cooked tail-on whites from Asia were about $4 for 91-110s to $6.45 for 21-25s. Tailo��� cooked shrimp from Asia were $4.35 for 7190s to $5 for 31-40s. Farmed, shell-on and headless whites from South America were about $2.80 for 81-90s to over $6 for 21-25s, to the country���s ���sheries ministry. While this represented a volume increase of fresh sole over the previous month���s 882,950 kg, it accompanied a price reduction from ���9.30 ($12.47). Conversely, while frozen sole volume had fallen from the previous month���s 51,670 kg, the average price had also fallen from ���9.47 ($12.70) per kg. Docapesca ��� Portugal���s ���rst point of ���sh sale and marketing ��� says at the start of fourth quarter 2012, the country���s monthly white���sh volume stood at 243 MT valued at ���556,000 ($745,860), down from a Q3 high of 291 MT valued at ���693,000 ($930,000). ��� Chris Dove and $3.25 to $6.15 for shrimp from Asia. Farmed head-on whites from South America were $2.50 for 70-80s to $3.15 for 40-50s. Easypeel, farmed whites from Asia were $3.45 for 51-60s to more than $6 for 13-15s. Te one saving grace is continued strong exports from India. ���India was a big success story and it continues to be. Te forecast for India remains strong,��� the executive says. India���s success isn���t enough to balance skittishness from uncertainty in the CVD case. People are ���shy��� about importing shrimp on a cost-and-freight (C&F;) basis because of the risk of not knowing if there will be retroactive penalties. ��� SFB Staff Tuna report (Continued from page 20) protection period when purse seining is banned. Since fall, bigeye prices at Tsukiji market in Tokyo have been suppressed by high inventories of Indian Ocean product. Tis situation is declining gradually. In mid-January, the average price for frozen imported blue���n was 2,625 yen (���20.80; $28.50) per kilogram (kg). Southern blue���n fetched 1,680 yen (���13.30; $18) and bigeye just 838 yen (���6.60; $9) per kg. Te price spread means supermarkets will continue to feature bigeye as their mainstay sashimi tuna, a trend in consumer preference toward red meat cuts. ��� Chris Loew Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com