Growing pressure on food prices may drive up fish prices and cast a shadow on seafood sales in 2011, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
A new FAO report underlined how a “significant” price increases in key commodities such as corn and wheat over the last few months may impact the global seafood market.
“For the fisheries sector, this is important, not only because of the impact on aquaculture through cost increases in feed, but also because of the relationship between fish prices and food prices in general,” said the FAO in its January European price report.
Based on import prices in the world’s major markets, the FAO Fish Price Index showed “significant increases throughout 2010, reaching a new record toward the end of the year.” According to the FAO, current fish prices are on average higher than the previous record levels reached before the economic crisis hit in the fall of 2008.
Sales will also be threatened by economics, warned the FAO, suggesting that the seafood sector is “constantly aware consumers are price sensitive.”
As for farmed salmon, the FAO predicted that prices will stay high in 2011, foreseeing “only moderate increases in supply.” Additional salmon raised in Chile will enter the pipeline in the second half of 2011 and “some decline” in prices is expected then. In January, the FAO posted an average price of EUR 5.60 a kilogram for farmed salmon.
Norwegian salmon producers benefited greatly in 2010 from record prices caused by the production drop-off in Chile. But 2011 is also set to be marked by high salmon prices, forecasted the FAO.
(Rising commodity prices are also impacting shrimp prices worldwide. Check out the latest SeafoodSource shrimp market report, available only to SeafoodSource premium members.)
