Increased demand for expensive fish in China and Asia has led to a leap in the worldwide price of tuna, oysters, shrimp and salmon, according to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The global fish price index, the measure used by the Rome-based U.N. body, rose 15 percent in May, well above the level for the same period in 2012 and passing the previous peak in 2011.
It is bad news for British consumers already struggling with rising inflation which jumped from 2.4 percent to 2.7 percent in May, much of it on transport. The spike in fish prices has bucked the slight fall in general food costs.
The index tracks the cost of wild and farmed seafood and is considered the benchmark in an industry expected to be worth USD 130 billion (GBP 83 billion) by the end of 2013.
Growing urbanization and more supermarkets has caused increases in demand for seafood in emerging economies, particularly China, said the FAO.
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