Prices for premium-quality cod are going up in Newfoundland, Canada this year, according to the province’s Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel.
The pricing came out an agreement between the Fish, Food and Allied Workers-Unifor union and seafood processor Icewater Seafoods for the 2014-2015 season.
Prices for cod will be CAD 0.80 (USD 0.74, EUR 0.54) for premium quality, CAD 0.40 (USD 0.37, EUR 0.27) for Grade B and CAD 0.20 (USD 0.18, EUR 0.14) cents for Grade C. This compares with a straight price of CAD 0.50 (USD 0.46, EUR 0.34) cents a pound in 2013.
“The essence of this agreement is to increase the value of our fish,” said FFAW-Unifor President Earle McCurdy. “There’s no cross-subsidization between grades in this program. The prices for the different grades are tied to the relative market returns of different grades of fish.”
The panel cited cheaper cod substitutes, like tilapia an Pollock, as driving down the cod block market and creating the price gap between lower and higher grades.
McCurdy said the “tal qual” or straight price policy didn’t reward harvesters who maximized the quality of their landings.
