Greece’s farmed sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) producers remain confident there won’t be a repeat of the 2007 industry collapse anytime soon despite a disastrous 2013 for some of the country’s biggest players.
In Nireus’ recent financial statement, Aristides Belles, chairman and managing director, said, “2013 was the worst year in the history” of the group.
It certainly wasn’t alone in its misery, with rival producer Selonda confirming its losses grew from EUR 11 million (USD 15.1 million) in 2012 to more than EUR 66 million (USD 90.8 million) last year.
Belles said his company’s poor performance was largely due to an “unprecedented lack of liquidity, as well as the continuing climate of uncertainty,” which brought prices to very low levels, while raw material and feed prices soared.
At Seafood Expo Global in Brussels in May, Greek traders were blaming the industry’s failings on the country’s “creaking” banking system, which “had offered fish farmers little support in many years,” as well as stronger competition from other fish producing countries. Without a doubt, neighboring Turkey is providing the stiffest competition for Greece and last year took over its position as the world’s No. 1 bass and bream producer with output well above 100,000 metric tons (MT), while Greece’s production for 2013 slipped to less than 95,000 MT.
However, Nireus is among those Greek producers that anticipate 2014 will prove to be far more comfortable than the previous 12 months. Fueling the optimism are widespread hopes that early shoots of economic recovery will be seen in the Mediterranean before year’s end, although it should be noted that producers are increasingly less reliant on domestic markets. Furthermore, European bass and bream prices have been trending upward since the start of this year and there has been some easing of feed prices as well as the broader introduction of more efficient grow-out diets.
Traders also reckon the total supply of bass and bream might drop this year, which “wouldn’t be bad news” for the industry as last year’s output — forecast at around 342,000 MT — was probably too much for the market to absorb and led to products often being sold for below cost.
A strategic drop in production would bring supply more in line with demand and would put prices back on viable footing, they said, adding that another positive sign is the growing interest from non-traditional markets like Russia, the Middle East and the United States, which are willing to pay higher prices than Europe.
In May Greek bass and bream prices stood between EUR 5 (USD 6.88) and EUR 6 (USD 8.26) per kilogram (kg), with Turkish products typically a few cents cheaper. On average, Mediterranean bass and bream costs between EUR 4 (USD 5.50) and EUR 4.50 (USD 6.19) per kg to produce.
