But salmon prices tumble in February

SALMON spot prices in Norway tumbled further earlier this month as China faced almost total shutdown on the back of the coronavirus outbreak.

The average price reduction in Norway is around 10 kroner per kilo for most size salmon, with further reductions expected in the weeks ahead.

Five to six kilo fresh salmon was hovering at around NOK 63

– or pre-Christmas levels. Large volumes of unsold fish are now stuck in global markets.

The virus, which is continuing to spread throughout China and had led to more than 600 deaths at the time of going to press, is playing havoc with commodity markets because the world’s most populous country is no longer buying on a large scale.

Even more worrying for the industry are the predictions that it could take months before the crisis ends. Many flights from Europe carrying seafood into China have been cancelled, while Norwegian crab exports to China have also come to a halt.

But according to reports from Norway, coronavirus is not the only reason salmon prices have done an about-turn.

Bad weather has hit road transport carrying consignments from fish farms to airports. And following the surprise surge at the beginning of the year, when large fresh salmon almost touched NOK 80 per kilo, many analysts thought prices were artificially far too high.

A correction has been expected and it is now a question as to how much further they are likely to fall.