The global cod supply will contract by around 50,000 metric tons (MT) in 2022, continuing a long-term trend that has been occurring since 2016, according to experts speaking at the National Fisheries Institute's 2022 Global Seafood Market Conference.
The 2022 global cod supply was estimated at 1.45 million MT, down from 1.5 million MT in 2021, according to data shared during the conference. The cod supply has been declining since 2016, when the supply was 1.792 million MT.
The decline in supply in 2022 isn’t the same across Atlantic and Pacific, however. The Atlantic cod supply represents the entirety of the decline, with Pacific cod seeing increased supplies.
“When we bring that up by species, we actually see that Atlantic cod catches are expected to decline by about 75,000 metric tons,” Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers Economic Consultant Ron Rogness said. “Pacific cod is increasing, however, by 25,000 metric tons.”
Coinciding with the shrinking supply are recent increases in prices. According to data shared during the presentation, the price of H&G Atlantic cod in China is nearing USD 5,000 (EUR 4,451) per metric ton, closing in on historic highs of 2007.
Loin and fillet prices, however, have already reached record highs. Prices for 8- to 16-ounce Atlantic cod fillets are nearing USD 6.00 (EUR 5.34), and 8- to 16-ounce Pacific cod fillets have reached USD 5.50 (EUR 4.89) – both record prices. Those prices represent significant increases over pre-pandemic levels, and big jumps from early 2021, when prices were under USD 4.50 (EUR 4.00) for both Pacific and Atlantic cod.
Four-ounce Pacific loins are now selling for USD 5.00 (EUR 4.45), with prices jumping significantly from March 2021, when they were selling just over USD 3.25 (EUR 2.89).
“If you go back two or three more years, we’re seeing price increases close to the 50 percent level, the same thing that we’re seeing in the aquaculture species as well,” Rogness said. “Those numbers are all up.”
Photo courtesy of Mironov Vladimir/Shutterstock
