EP 339 | AIRED 06/12/2017

Outlook for this Year’s Sockeye as Openings Begin

June 12, 2017 - Welcome to The Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Kyla Ganton and here is the seafood news for the week of June 12th, 2017.

Subscribe to our 3-Minute Market Insight

--- The next two weeks are set to indicate the outlook for Sockeye Salmon this year, as openings in Alaska and British Columbia begin. Sockeye fishing opens in the Prince William Sound in mid-May with 282,000 sockeye caught to date. Fishing in Kodiak begins in early June, and the ADFG has reported 122,000 sockeye harvested so far. The next 10 to 14 days will truly indicate where the Sockeye market is headed, when Bristol Bay gillnet fishing for Sockeye begins. Headed and gutted pricing is speculated to be around $4.00 per pound for 4-6s and nearly $4.25 per pound for 6-9s. Fillet pricing is currently in the range of $7.50 to $8.00 per pound in Seattle, but we anticipate the influx of product to plug up the Fresh market before we see product hit the freezers by the end of June or early July. Pricing is speculated to increase after smaller Alaskan harvests last year and higher pricing on farmed salmon, as discussed in a recent episode. Andy Wink, the Senior Seafood Analyst for McDowell Group explained that retailers will need to communicate to customers that sockeye will be a dollar or two higher at retail this year, due to smaller harvests this year. --- A big variable for sockeye buyers are the fisheries in British Columbia, for customers who do not require Alaskan products. The Fraser River and Johnstone Strait fisheries have been a bust the past few years. 2016 was the worst sockeye return in British Columbian history after the Pacific Salmon Commission forecasted a return of 2.2 million fish, with only 630,000 fish accounted for. Besides anticipating low catch volumes for 2017, it is unknown if we will even see an opening this year in B.C. --- The Skeena River will open next week and expectations for 2017 are for very low levels again. We should begin to see fresh pricing next week, and expectations are in the $8 range from the Skeena, where fish have historically been small and do not hold up in freezers well. --- To wrap things up, our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for 1-3lb Sockeye Salmon fillets. These are #1 Quality, packed 1x25 in our premium Sinbad Platinum spec and available in Seattle for $7.35/lb USD. Click or tap the icon above to view this offer. ----Thank you for joining me for the Tradex Foods "3-Minute Market Insight" This is Kyla Ganton - “BUY SMART” and “EAT MORE SEAFOOD"

If you have a topic you'd like to hear on upcoming 3-Minute Market Insights, tweet us on Twitter @TradexFoods

Subscribe to our 3-Minute Market Insight

Subscribe