European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) production in the Mediterranean will reach around 351,000 metric tons (MT) this year, an increase of 35,000 MT compared with 2016, and this growth will continue in 2018 with a harvest of 372,000 MT, according to the latest analysis compiled by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products’ (EUMOFA).
Within the Mediterranean region, Turkey has been the No. 1 supplier of seabass since 2014 and is this year estimated to produce 60,000 MT of the species, compared with Greece’s 48,000 MT. In 2018, the two countries are expected to harvest 65,000 MT and 50,000 MT respectively.
EUMOFA expects Greece to hang on to its position as the lead supplier of bream with an estimated 64,000 MT this year, compared with Turkey’s 59,000 MT, up 8,000 MT and 9,000 MT respectively. But it anticipates that both countries will produce 67,000 MT of the fish in 2018.
In terms of demand and prices, the seabass and seabream trade tends to peak in the summer months and year-end holidays. In good periods, the price of bream follows bass; if not, bass tends to achieve a higher price per kg. Nevertheless, despite the overall supply growth, the average export price over the last seven summers increased by 17 percent for bass and 20 percent for bream to about EUR 5.80 (USD 6.87) and EUR 5 (USD 5.92) per kg respectively.
Furthermore, when comparing the historic export prices of the two countries, Turkish bass and bream achieve a significantly lower price level. However, EUMOFA highlighted that this tendency is diminishing, especially for seabass.
Increased imports entering Europe, mainly from Turkey, are routed to both the traditional seabass and seabream markets represented by Italy and Spain and to more recently developing markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands (the last serving largely as a hub for further distribution throughout Europe). But EUMOFA has also observed that in contrast with the traditional markets, the imported bass and bream are accounting for a large share of the EU market and are also becoming the dominant market player in the emerging markets, compared with Greece – the main intra-EU exporter.
