Salmon: a competitive tragedy.

Salmon | Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz

The value of salmon in the market -as well as in any other product- depends on the supply, demand, and the conditions of competition. Prices of Chilean salmon in the US have fallen slightly this week, with a lower fall observed in Brazilian prices, according to the latest data distributed by DataSalmon.com, based on data from 15 Chilean producers that represent 80% of the supplier market.

According to the specialist Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz, managing partner of Chilean Fisheries in Miami, the price of salmon should remain stable despite the recent algal blooms in Norway, where more than 8 million salmon have died due to the presence of toxic algae.

Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz - Fish Industry Partner

"A variation is not forecast in the next 90 days - nothing can be projected beyond that period - but we have to wait until the end of the year to see if the European market will affect prices on this side of the globe," affirms Mr. Baeza.

In fact, there are those who project a considerable increase in the price of fresh salmon for the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020, due to the decrease in product volume in the European market. It is important to remember that in 2016, Chile recorded millions of losses in the salmon industry due to the decrease in product volume in the European market and the invasion of algae, causing a rise in the price globally, which resulted in very high profits for other producers.

At this time, we must wait for the market to mark the variations according to the given conditions, until the tragedy of the invasion of algae remains in the past and the game of the salmon market returns to its stable course of production.