Trade and Markets

Cephalopod stocks have grown over the past five decades. According to a researcher at the Institute of Marine Research in Spain, global warming may have benefited cephalopods stocks as temperature changes and the disappearance of certain upwellings have forced some predator species away from cephalopod habitats.

Over 14 million tonnes of bivalves are produced by aquaculture every year. However, the share of bivalves entering international trade is relatively small, as most of the production is consumed within the production country. This is especially true for the top world producer, China, which produces over 80 percent of the world's bivalves

Marine Ingredients Denmark Europe produces 10% of the world’s fishmeal and 20% of its fish oil. Here, the production plant of FF Skagen in Denmark.

Seafood continues to remain limited on the menus of many fast food restaurants, which are frequently focused on meat products, in Europe as well as globally. Yet increasing demands for convenient food options, coupled with growing desires for healthy and “real” food, show the potential for an increase in seafood available at quick service restaurants.

News in the salmon sector for 2016 has so far been dominated by reports of a massive algal bloom in southern Chile that had killed some 27 million fish by 10 March. Compounded by an expected drop in production in Norway where growth is currently limited by sea lice issues

After a year of lower harvests, firming prices and relived pressure on producer margins, 2016 has started off well with a sharp upturn in seabass and seabream prices on European markets. Further reductions in supply from the major sources should see this situation continue, giving a further boost to the expanding Turkish industry and allowing Greek companies the opportunity to build on what are now more solid foundations.

Russia and the USA are preparing to cooperate in order to fight IUU crab fishing. This may lead to tighter supplies as illegal crab could be removed from the market.

During the third quarter of 2015, frozen skipjack prices increased strongly by almost 50%, but started to decline in October. In the first half of 2015, the sashimi tuna market in Japan remained weak. For the first time in history, US imports of air-flown fresh tuna were higher than that of Japan something that could become a common feature in the future as well. For canned tuna, export earnings suffered in Asia and Latin America during the first six months of the year, as traditional markets in the USA and EU remained lacklustre. Import growth only persisted in the Middle Eastern markets.

In the first half of 2015, global production of farmed shrimp was lower than the same time period last year, particularly with less than expected harvests in Asia. Production in Ecuador was higher during this period, with Viet Nam as their top export market. Shrimp prices plummeted by 15-20% in international trade compared with the first six months of 2014 as a result of the supply and demand disparity in the USA, the EU and Japan.