The wholesale price of imported boiled octopus is at its highest in 10 years, but weak EU demand may bring it down.
West African product at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market was JPY 1,800 (USD 17.67, EUR 12.96) per kilogram (kg), up 40 percent from the same period last year, due to reduced catches since the season started in mid-November. This is the first time in three years it has exceeded JPY 1,700 (USD 16.69, EUR 12.25) and shows a marked recovery from the collapse in prices following the sub-prime housing loan crisis. Retail prices for product from Morocco and Mauritania are 20 percent higher year-on-year at JPY 280 (USD 2.75, EUR 2.02) to JPY 350 (USD 3.44, EUR 2.52) per 100 grams at supermarkets. Demand for West African product from Europe has weakened due to economic contraction there, which should bring wholesale prices down.
The high premium for Toyama Bay firefly squid will likely abate as warmer weather increases catches.
Firefly squid are bite-sized luminescent squid. Spring is their season and Toyoma Bay is the most notable source. Landings were low in the early season leading to a high price premium over other sources. In boiled form for baskets of 350-400 grams at Tsukiji, the wholesale price was JPY 1,500 (USD 14.73, EUR 10.80) to JPY 1,700, or 2.5 times the level of the same period last year. Squid fishing in Toyama runs from March to June. Low water temperature and stormy weather reduced the catch to 30 percent of that for the same period last year. Though the wholesale price has remained high, interest from restaurants is brisk, as Toyama production is watched closely.
On the other hand, for product of Hyogo Prefecture, where fishing is starts at the end of January, the wholesale price is JPY 200 (USD 1.96, EUR 1.44) to JPY 250 (USD 2.45, EUR 1.80) per basket, the same level as the previous year and undervalued compared to Toyama product. Hyogo product is the mainstay of mass retailers, which tag it at around JPY 300 (USD 2.94, EUR 2.16) to JPY 400 (USD 3.93, EUR 2.88) per 100 grams.
The price spread should narrow, as the Toyama Prefectural Fisheries Research Institute predicts that the catch of firefly squid in Toyama Bay in 2014 will meet or exceed an average year once the water temperature increases.
Illex squid prices are expected to decline on strong a South Atlantic catch.
The sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands continues to affect the squid fishery. Argentina grants many licenses with the intention of intercepting migrating squid and harming Falkland Island fishery revenues. Intensive fishing in areas outside the two countries’ 200-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and illegal entry to Argentina’s zone, which is not well patrolled, also have the potential to deplete Illex stocks.
The Argentina catch looks unlikely to match last year’s, as it was only 31,761 metric tons (MT) from January to March 13, compared with close to 70,000 MT in the same period of 2013. However, hauls in international waters and in the Falkland Islands EEZ appear good. Trawlers in the Falkland’s fishery have averaged an excellent 68.9 MT per vessel so far.
Last year (including January) Japan received 6,100 MT of Illex squid. This year, due to larger hauls, prices are expected to decline, boosting popularity of squid in the Japanese market.
Initial cost-and-freight prices of small Argentine squid (about 100 grams) were USD 2,500 (EUR 1,935) to USD 2,600 (EUR 1,907) per MT, but are expected to decline by around USD 300 (EUR 220) per MT.
Japan’s domestic squid industry is based off Kushiro, Hokkaido, where several processors in the area have gone out of business. Japanese squid jiggers will have a hard time earning a profit as the weaker yen has sent fuel prices higher. Squid jigging vessels, which operate at night, need energy to run powerful lights that attract squid.
