Farmed salmon prices in Norway have fallen sharply as abundant supplies of fish and high volumes of biomass ready for harvest in netpens tip the scales in favor of buyers, market sources said.

The scope of the reversal can be seen in average prices on the Nasdaq's salmon index, which last week stood at NOK 69.83 (€6.86/$8.33), but have since dropped into the mid NOK 50's (€5.40/$6.56) range, market sources report.

Greater volume is being supported by good growth of the fish in the sea, one exporter said.

The battle over prices was still continuing late Friday, with exporters asking for as much as NOK 52 (€5.11/$6.20) and NOK 53 (€5.21/$6.32) per kilo, and producers pushing back for higher prices, the exporter said.

The exporter added that prices are likely to go down by as much as NOK 10 (€0.98/$1.19) from last week. Fish over 6 kilos are are likely to go even higher.

A second exporter reported a strong consensus at NOK 50-54 (€4.91-5.31/$5.96-6.44) for fish between 3-6 kilos.

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Recent NASDAQ price trends:

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Market corrects from earlier tight supply

Public holidays and short working weeks in May lifted prices earlier this month.

"Now we are back to full volume and there is good access to fish," one industry source said.

The source expects to see growth in supply over the next two month, which likely put a dampener on prices during the period.

Another source reported hearing price in the NOK 50's range with plenty of supply, but added that it remains unclear what the final price will shake out to be.

An IntraFish survey of market sources revealed the following prices.

  • 3-4 kg: NOK 50-55(€4.91-5.40/$5.96-6.56)/kg
  • 4-5 kg: NOK 50-55(€4.91-5.40/$5.96-6.56)/kg
  • 5-6 kg: NOK 50-55(€4.91-5.40/$5.96-6.56)/kg
  • 6–7 kg: NOK 2 (€0.20/$0.25) higher than the other sizes