The price of salmon is likely to go up in the near future because of bad weather and disease, according to retail analysts.
Already some 123,000 tonnes of farmed salmon have been killed in Chile by an attack of toxic algae. The algae have flourished due to abnormally high ocean temperatures fuelled by this year’s El Niño.
Chile is the second largest salmon producer after Norway, accounting for 25% of world production. The consequent shortage pushed up wholesale prices by 60%.
Now a second attack is underway which marine biologists say could take months to clear.
Last year, parasitic sea lice killed about 30,000 tonnes of Norway’s salmon. The fish pens had to be cleaned out and the remaining salmon harvested early which resulted in smaller fish.
Norwegian salmon production for 2016 is forecast at 1.2 million tonnes, down 5% on 2015 levels and prices were up 63% this month compared to the same time last year.
While worldwide supplies are falling demand in the EU rose by 7% to 1.1 million tonnes.
Salmon needs on average two years to grow fully, so it looks likely the 2016 harvest will be limited.
Higher prices are bad news for consumers, but will be welcomed by those in the industry. Prices slumped in 2014 as many producers had to sell salmon at a discount after trade sanctions halted shipments to Russia, a major buyer.
