Pollock is fished in the Winter months but plants typically hold raw materials in inventory as processing is done throughout the year. Twice frozen fillets have been in the mid-$1.00 range since last Fall, but with decent supply on both 2-4oz and 4-6oz sizes.

--- Pacific Cod, on the other hand, has had a turbulent start to the year.

Raw materials started to drop in December, bringing down twice frozen fillet and loin pricing in the early months, however we have seen the market recover slightly as supply tightens.

The Total allowable catch (TAC) has decreased year-to-year in the Gulf of Alaska by 6 percent to 12.4 thousand metric tonnes and by 11 percent to 180 thousand metric tonnes in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

Chinese processors have indicated that they have plenty of access to Russian Long Line Fish at the moment though, with many plants using long line fish to cut regular orders because of the supply influx.

Although Alaskan Pacific Cod supply is short, we anticipate pricing to be fairly stable with the stable Russian supply.

--- Atlantic Cod H&G pricing has been strong but stable stable this year in both supply and pricing.

Within the past two weeks, however, a few Chinese processors indicated Atlantic Cod supply is tightening, one plant opted to purchase from the EU directly.

Twice frozen loins have been in the mid-$4.00 range since January with little indication of any pricing relief on the horizon.

--- Moving on to Flounder now - U.S. Import tariffs on twice frozen fillets from China have caused this species to spike astronomically.

After shortened supply and a 10 percent tariff applied in September, Flounder fillets have been in the mid-$3.00 range, a considerable jump from $2.90/lb the previous year.

Tariffs have since increased to 25 percent, beginning May 10th for any product on the water that arrives after June 15th.

--- In addition to the tariffs on products on List 3, a new list of tariffs entitled List 4 is in discussion this month, which would include Alaska Pollock, Pacific and Atlantic Cod, and Pacific Salmon.

Tariff discussions by the public are anticipated to be over by June 17th and the market is hopeful that the aforementioned products will be exempt again.

--- Lastly, Pacific Salmon has been steady this year but we anticipate pricing to drop because of the big year anticipated for Salmon.

It could be the biggest year on record for Alaskan Chum Salmon and we have already begun to see that stat affect the market with raw materials dropping about $1000 per metric tonne.

This usually translates to $0.10 / lb on finished goods.

Stay tuned to the 3-minute-market insight for all-species updates throughout the duration of the year.

--- And finally, our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for our SINBAD Brand IQF Pollock Fillets.

We have inventories available in Chicago, Boston, and Jacksonville Florida for $1.55/lb.

As always, our SINBAD brand has a 100% Net Weight Guarantee.

TradexLIVE Offer of the Week

(Click to View Offer)

SINBAD products are harvested from sustainable fisheries (when possible) and are produced from the finest raw materials with exceptional harvesting and processing standards. All products follow our industry best 7-Step Quality Control Process delivering comprehensive inspections at every stage of processing. Our SINBAD Brand is our Value Priced, Premium Quality product line Produced in Asia.

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