There is a silver lining to higher seafood prices, which have spiked in recent months: More U.S. shoppers are discovering supermarkets’ fresh seafood departments because the price gap between fresh seafood and other major proteins is narrowing.
“Seafood has always been a little higher [than other proteins], but beef prices are catching up to seafood prices at this point,” said Joe Lane, store manager and seafood director for Western Springs, Ill.-based Casey’s Market, which also operates Mike’s Market in Villa Park, Ill.
For example, Casey’s is currently featuring filet mignon for USD 27.98 (EUR 21.20) a pound and wild salmon for USD 25.99 (EUR 19.69) per pound. “When you are charging almost the same price for steaks as wild salmon from Alaska, it is pretty bad,” said Lane. Wholesale poultry and pork prices are also “going through the roof,” he added.
Most U.S. seafood retailers and distributors are echoing Lane’s sentiments. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently predicted that fish and seafood prices would rise by 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year, up from the agency’s previous forecast of a 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent increase.
Compare that to wholesale beef prices, which the USDA expects to spike between 8 percent and 9 percent this year, and pork prices, which are expected to jump by 10 percent to 11 percent.
Droughts in California and other states, along with higher feed prices, signal that protein prices are not slacking off anytime soon.
“The ongoing drought in California could potentially have large and lasting effects on fruit, vegetable, dairy and egg prices, and drought conditions in Texas and Oklahoma could drive beef prices up even further,” according to a statement from the USDA.
Meanwhile, rising fuel costs, higher feed prices and shortages of certain high-profile seafood items like shrimp have spurred higher overall seafood costs this year. “We are seeing prices rise on everything, partly due to high shipping costs,” Lane said.
“There have been more ups than downs [in seafood pricing] lately. Fuel prices are crazy and the cost of feed is astronomical,” said Scott McDonald, retail sales coordinator for seafood distributor John Nagle Co. in Boston.
As a result of higher food and gas prices, only 39 percent of U.S. consumers said they are optimistic about the economy, a sharp drop from 46 percent last month, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Consumer Fuels Study. Nearly four in 10 consumers said that gas prices have a great impact on their feelings about the economy.
However, despite consumer concerns, the narrowing price gap between seafood and other proteins is prompting more shoppers to give seafood a second look.
“When beef is hitting USD 6 a pound, suddenly seafood at USD 12 or 13 a pound is not as much as a stretch as it would typically be. It looks more favorable to consumers,” said Brian Todd, president of the nonprofit organization The Food Institute in Upper Saddle River, N.J.
To attract shoppers’ attention to the seafood departments, successful grocery chains are promoting popular fish such as salmon and tilapia as gateway products. “Retailers are doing a good job. They are advertising farm-raised salmon at USD 8.99 (EUR 6.81) a pound, to get shoppers to come in and buy other seafood,” McDonald said.
Retailers such as Fresh Market contract for farmed salmon at a favorable rate for several months in advance and also have their ads planned months in advance, McDonald noted.
Supermarkets also lure shoppers to the seafood department with in-store signage and circulars promoting new and local species. For example, Casey’s Market featured mako shark during the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” series this summer.
“You can’t leave the store without walking past our seafood department,” Lane said. “People bought mako shark like crazy because it was something different.”
Supermarkets are doing a better job of educating shoppers about where their seafood comes from and how to prepare it, along with offering more prepared seafood items to make their at-home experiences more successful.
“Our guys are extremely well-versed on how to cook fish; most people don’t know how to cook it,” Lane said.
Casey’s Market continues adding to its prepared seafood selection, and is now carrying 15 to 20 different fresh prepared items daily. “We have a marinated salmon that we probably sell 30 to 40 pounds of daily,” Lane said. “They [shoppers] don’t want to think about it. They can just cook it and it’s done.”
