The rapid growth of Turkish aquaculture has helped drive the European production volumes of farmed seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) to an unprecedented level. At the same time, increased global demand has sparked a much-needed improvement in prices over the past 18 months.
According to the new European Aquaculture Production Report 2005-2014, compiled and published by the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), Europe’s bass and bream production totaled 294,834 metric tons (MT) last year, up from 290,205 MT in 2013. The new total comprised a fairly even split between the two species, with bass at 148,367 MT and bream reaching 146,467 MT, up from 144,417 MT and 145,788 MT, respectively.
Turkey is Europe’s leading producer of sea bass, a position that it took from neighboring Greece in 2008. Last year, Turkish farms produced 74,653 MT of the fish, up from 67,912 MT in 2013. FEAP’s report finds that the country’s output has in fact doubled since 2005.
Greece’s bass production fell to 42,000 MT last year from 48,000 MT in 2013. The only other big European producer of bass was Spain, which increased its harvest from 14,700 MT to 17,376 MT in 2014.
Turkey’s sea bream production, meanwhile, has increased at a less dramatic rate over the same period, but still surged from 35,701 MT in 2013 to 41,873 MT last year. This is considerably less than Greece, the No. 1 producer of the species, which harvested 71,000 MT last year. However, Turkish producers can point to a fairly steady growth trend, while Greece’s bream output has fluctuated dramatically over the past decade, peaking at 94,000 MT in 2008.
Spain was also Europe’s third biggest bream producer with 16,230 MT last year, down slightly from 16,800 MT in 2013.
In spite of the high volumes, prices for both species have stayed relatively steady over the past year. This has been welcomed across the industry, but particularly by the Greek operations, which endured a torrid 2013 with market prices dragged to very low levels while raw material and feed prices soared, not to mention the related industries in Greece having some major cash flow problems. Nevertheless, producers largely weathered that storm and were rewarded with a steady improvement in prices throughout last year and into 2015. At the same time, feed prices have eased and there has been a broader use of more efficient grow-out diets across the industry.
Another positive sign for producers is the growing interest in these fish from non-traditional markets such as the Middle East, the United States and Russia – all of which are willing to pay higher prices than most European markets are at present. Turkey has particularly benefited from the ongoing Russian embargo on EU food products and has effectively become the sole bass and bream supplier to that market in the past 12 months.
Traders were expecting to see a reduction in the total supply of bass and bream in 2014 this year, and while that hasn’t materialized it’s widely believed that production has now plateaued and that the output will remain around the current level for the next year or two. FEAP’s report supports this view, finding that the production of juvenile bass and bream has remained at less than 1.1 billion fish for the past two years. Again, Turkey and Greece led the production, with the former producing 178 million bass juveniles and 149 million bream juveniles last year, up from 172 million and 138 million respectively. Greece’s juvenile production in 2014, meanwhile, comprised 175 million bass and 237 million bream, down from 192 million and 266 million in 2013.
With demand growing and production leveling off, prices can be expected to trend upwards in the months ahead. Average wholesale prices for seabass on the important Spanish market in July were at a solid EUR 5.30 (USD 5.88) per kg for fish under 600g, EUR 6.80 (USD 7.54) per kg for fish up to 1kg and EUR 9.80 (USD 10.87) per kg for fish above 1kg. The average price for bream, meanwhile, was EUR 5.60 (USD 6.21) for fish under 600g, EUR 6.80 for fish up to 1kg and EUR 9.30 (USD 10.31) for fish above 1kg.
The only potentially big issue facing the sector is an anti-dumping investigation into Turkish exports being conducted by the European Commission. This examination, which is very much in its infancy, follows a complaint lodged by the Spanish Business Association of Marine Aquaculture Producers (APROMAR) that Turkey has been exporting large volumes of government-subsidized fresh, frozen and chilled seabass and seabream to the Spanish market. APROMAR claims this has had a damaging effect on EU producers.
