With global whitefish quotas remaining flat or increasing in 2015, prices should go down “across the board” this year, said one trader during the opening day of Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, where the international seafood community gathers annually to discuss deals for the upcoming year.
Russia’s trade ban with Western nations, which hits the one-year mark this August, is partly to blame, as the market is a traditional destination for lower-priced whitefish species like Pacific hake (whiting). Much of that product remains sitting in suppliers’ freezers, said Alex Babadzhanov, GM of SOGDA Ltd., an Alaska seafood supplier based in Kirkland, Wash., USA.
“Like any normal market, they want to be self-sufficient,” said Babadzhanov, whose company has been keenly impacted by turmoil in the region, closing an office in the Ukraine as a result.
The country’s vast land and marine resources has helped Russia get through the past eight months of limited international trade, he said, but key secondary processing markets like China and Vietnam remain open. Other workarounds, like shipping product to neighboring Belarus, have not proven to be sustainable solutions.
“They’re not too concerned. It’s been almost a year, and they’ve survived,” he added.
The embargo has, however, forced suppliers like SOGDA to seek new markets in regions like South America. “There isn’t another globe. There’s only one. The world is getting smaller every year; there’s not a market I haven’t tried to open,” Babadzhanov added.
With the summer fishing season for hake looming, suppliers sitting on product may have to accept deep discounts. But Babadzhanov said that some suppliers “don’t want to look weak” by admitting they have unsold product. It’s a “sore subject” with many players in the industry, who are also hurting with global currencies weak against the U.S. dollar, “which never helps,” he said.
A strong run of Alaska salmon, however, should be a bright spot, particularly pinks. Babadzhanov predicted more markets to open up for pinks, which are prized due to their red color and health benefits. Prices for pinks should go down this year. “At the end of the day, every pound gets sold and eaten,” he said.
