Trends of seafood exports from Russia's North Fisheries Basin as per mid-September 2009
In mid-September 2009 seafood exportation from Murmansk-led North Fisheries Basin has been showing mixed trends, fishery sources in Murmansk told www.fishnet-russia.com (https://www.fishnet.ru/).
Bottomfish
Bottomfish operations (cod and haddock) in the Russian North Fisheries Basin have been fairly stable just like the market demand and prices. Price ripples are attributed mostly to currency fluctuations. The financial crisis has pushed away from the market one-day players and now the market is functioning in normal mode.
According to some market players, starting from September 2009 the bottomfish prices will be slightly growing.
Ocean perch and halibut
As for ocean perch and halibut (NAFO, Greenland, Irminger Sea, etc.) the market prices for the species have been continuously falling. Peaking prices were observed in the end of May and in the middle of September 2009 the prices seemed to reach the bottom level. The Japanese market (main commander of ocean perch and halibut prices) is not very big now and it has been showing signs of saturation. By the end of September 2009 the vessels will finish fishing and in the beginning of the next year the prices are expected to start rising again.
Pelagic species
The situation on the pelagic market has been fairly predictable for the third and fourth year running. The market players have been reporting a decrease of herring prices and a rise of blue whiting prices. The herring fishery has just taken off and the Russian market is not saturated with the product yet. The prices for herring are forecasted to fall every week. In the end of September 2009 there will be a short period of time (from one week to two weeks) when it will profitable to sell frozen herring in Norway for African market. Length of this period will depend on how quickly herring will approach the Norwegian shores, because after that it will be impossible to compete in prices with herring harvested by the Norwegian seiners and frozen onshore. Then it will be shipped to Russia again and the prices will naturally decrease.
Blue whiting is harvested in the Faroese fishing zone in November-December 2009, but the fishery conditions are so difficult (storms) that no price decreases could be expected.
As for capelin, the market situation looks gloomy now. If the fishermen continue harvesting the species, sales of the products will remain a big challenge. Fishmeal production in Murmansk (now there are no such facilities in the city) could have been exactly to the point against the background of very high prices for fishmeal and fish oil.