Seafood suppliers hoping for a merry holiday selling season are likely to be disappointed.

During the upcoming holiday season, suppliers will continue to face the same headwinds that have dogged them all year, said Rick Stein, vice president of fresh and frozen at the Food Industry Association (FMI), which represents US food retailers, including Safeway, Kroger and other leading supermarket chains.

Consumers are still trading down, and there is the sticker shock of seafood on a per-pound basis," said Rick Stein of FMI.