World: Salmon thriving and shrimp prices low as aquaculture industry finds a new normal

Salmon thriving and shrimp prices low as aquaculture industry finds a new normal. According to a new Rabobank report, the global salmon industry will continue to be the most profitable aquaculture sector. The shrimp industry is struggling to stabilise amid oversupply, low prices, and weak Chinese import demand. Global fish meal supply is expected to improve, given weakening El Niño conditions, and prices should normalise. In 2023, the shrimp farming industry faced one of the most challenging years for more than a decade. Weak shrimp demand in the West, combined with persistently strong supply from Ecuador, created price levels even lower than the lowest point in the pandemic (2H 2020), while costs remained elevated due to high feed prices. According to Gorjan Nikolik, Senior Global Seafood Specialist at Rabobank: “Normalising salmon supply and likely better fish meal and fish oil production will soften prices in 2024, but only marginally, establishing a new higher price normal. ...