3MMI - Pollock Pricing to Remain Steady Until The Fall

EP 394 | Aired 07/09/2018

Pollock Pricing to Remain Steady Until The Fall

July 9, 2018 - In Alaska, harvest totals reported by NOAA are relatively on par with last year - Current Alaska Pollock landings are just above 800,000 metric tonnes.

2018 Alaska Salmon Commercial Harvest Counter
(Harvest in thousands of fish)
Tradex 2018 Alaska Salmon Commercial Harvest Counter
Updated: MON JUL 09 2018 12:01AM (View Previous Weeks Totals)

We have monitored Raw Material pricing and large Frozen at Sea headed and gutted pollock has strengthened $100 per metric tonne since last November to $1750, which works out to about 10 cents per pound on value added products.

The "2L" H&G pollock size is at $1850/MT but is used mostly for salted fillets and larger loins like 5oz and bigger.

In comparison, Russian Raw Materials have remained steady between $1230 and $1250 per metric tonne.

Raw material is reported to be slightly smaller right now, but Chinese Processing plants anticipate larger sizes raw materials in August and September.

Twice frozen Pollock fillets are in the range of $1.30 to $1.35/lb in Boston, after a slight increase from the beginning of the year.

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Fillet pricing should remain stable until September, when we anticipate some strenthening, but no more than 5 cents per pound.

The reason for the increase is not because of slow landings but because of financing problems for Chinese processing plants.

Several Plants have production capacity but are unable to get financing to purchase enough raw materials for their Fall production plan.

As a result, raw material prices could fall slightly, giving opportunity for Plants with adequate financing to push up their margins. For now, Pollock remains a stable whitefish option amidst soaring Cod and Haddock prices - we encourage buyers to lock up needs for Fall now before the market strengthens.

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