Poland, Europe’s second-largest market for Norwegian salmon and one of the EU’s biggest salmon smokers, is suffering high prices and narrowing margins.

“Poland is no longer capable of being competitive based on labor costs,” Krzysztof Dejk, managing director of Polish salmon processor BK Salmon, told IntraFish.

BK Salmon exports 99 percent of its production to Europe, mainly France, Germany and Scandinavia, so the impact of high prices is somewhat reduced by currency exchange. However, long-term and fixed prices with retailers, its main channel, make it difficult to offset high spot prices of the raw material.

“The