Norwegian salmon price seen falling 2-3 crowns per kilo next week (updated)

Austevoll Seafood ASA

07/09/2018 13:47

(Adds quotes)
    OSLO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The price of Norwegian farmed
salmon is expected to fall by 2-3 crowns to about 57-58
Norwegian crowns per kilo next week for delivery in Oslo after
two weeks of a sharp increases, two industry sources told
Reuters on Friday.
    "We expect prices to drop 3 crowns to about 57 crowns per
kilo on average next week," said an exporter who declined to be
named.
    "When prices rise to 60 crowns then our customers stop
buying salmon for storage and prices drop back. We expect prices
to remain under pressure the next weeks before a recovery in
mid-October.
    A salmon producer also said prices were set to fall,
although market players maintained a wait-and-see approach.
    "We have not done any trades yet but as it seems now prices
are down 2-3 crowns to just under 60 crowns for next week," the
producer said.
    "The main sizes 3-4 and 4-5 kilos salmon are in the range
56-58 crowns per kilo. We still have salmon from this week to
sell which creates some uncertainty and the harvested volumes
are still good," he said.
    Salmon prices have been extremely volatile in 2018 and
peaked at about 80 crowns in the second quarter before dropping
below 50 crowns two weeks ago.
    Average production costs for whole fish, including the cost
of harvesting, stood at 34.36 crowns per kilo in 2017, or 0.12
crowns lower than in 2016, according to data from the Norwegian
Directorate of Fisheries.
    Norway is the world's top salmon producer, with fish farming
the country's second-largest export industry after oil and gas.
The share price of listed farming companies depends heavily on
changes in the price of fish.
    Leading Norwegian producers include Marine Harvest  MHG.OL ,
Salmar  SALM.OL , Leroy Seafood  LSG.OL , Grieg Seafood
 GSFO.OL  and Norway Royal Salmon  NRSM.OL .

 (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, editing by Terje Solsvik)
 ((camilla.knudsen@thomsonreuters.com; +47 2331 6595; Reuters
Messaging: camilla.knudsen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))