EUMOFA Monthly Highlights 9 – 2020 is online

This month’s issue analyses first sales of European whitefish (Estonia, Denmark), and sea trout (Estonia, Poland, Denmark). The case studies of this month are “Fisheries and aquaculture in Peru” and “Albacore tuna in the EU”.

The headline messages from this month’s market insights are listed below.

FIRST SALES IN EUROPE: From January to July 2020, Denmark and Poland were among the EU Member States that saw decreases in first-sales value and volume. Cod was among the species behind this negative trend in both countries. In July 2020, first sales increased significantly in Estonia and the Netherlands. Higher sales of European perch, pike-perch, and vendace were behind the sharp increase in Estonia, while herring was the main species responsible for growth in the Netherlands. The most recent weekly (up to week 42 of 2020) and monthly (August 2020) data for first sales in Europe can be accessed on the EUMOFA website.

FIRST SALES OF EUROPEAN WHITEFISH AND SEA TROUT: The average first-sales price of European whitefish in Estonia was 5,39 EUR/kg between August 2017 and July 2020. This was 3% higher than in Denmark (5,22 EUR/kg). Over the same period, Estonia recorded a lower first-sales volume of sea trout compared to Poland and Denmark.

EXTRA-EU IMPORTS: The price of prepared or preserved salmon, whole or in pieces, from the US has increased over the past three years, while volume has decreased. This product experienced high fluctuations in supply.

CONSUMPTION: Over the past three years, Danish consumers spent 36% more for a kilogram of fresh halibut (33,81 EUR/kg on average), than Swedish consumers (24,87 EUR/kg).

FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN PERU: In 2019, EU imports of fisheries and aquaculture products from Peru amounted to roughly 197.000 tonnes, and were dominated by cephalopods, fishmeal and fish oil.

ALBACORE TUNA IN THE EU: EU catches of albacore tuna amounted to 28.152 tonnes in 2018, providing approximately 12% of the world supply.

GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS: On 29 September, EUMOFA organized the webinar “Introduction to EUMOFA”. EUMOFA experts gave guidance on how to obtain and use the data and information available on the EUMOFA website and gave practical demonstrations on how to access and extract data on first sales. For more information on the webinar, you may find the video recording of the event available at this link.

MACROECONOMIC CONTEXT: In September 2020, average prices for marine fuel in France, Italy, Spain, and the UK decreased by 10% relative to the previous month, reaching an average of 0,30 EUR/litre. Compared with July 2019, fuel prices were 41% higher.

The study is available in English, French and Spanish.