Today's Main Story: Snow Crab Well Over $6.00 in US as Japan Buying in Tatters
Any attempt to have orderly snow crab sales to Japan from Newfoundland this year has collapsed, in the face of soaring US prices writes John Sackton. This week, Urner Barry is reporting Newfoundland 5-8 sections at $6.10 which is the highest price ever recorded for snow crab in June. Part of the problem is weaker Japanese demand for raw frozen sections. But also, some Japanese traders simply can't afford these prices, and there is wide variation from company to company as to their needs and abilities. The turmoil has also extended to the US market, where many contracts are either being cancelled or simply not filled, unless buyers keep up with the price increases.
Canada's Federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo has resigned from the cabinet and is leaving the Liberal caucus to seek help for addiction problems, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday. Tootoo served just over six months in office and is the first minister to resign from Trudeau's cabinet. He was the first northerner to be named fisheries minister.
In other news, pangasius prices in the U.S. could go higher this summer as two of the market’s three major suppliers were hit with an unexpected duty rate revision and import refusal notification from the USDA's catfish inspection program in May. Urner Barry pangasius prices are unchanged since February, averaging $1.75 per pound. The last increase was a market reaction to the March 1st implementation of the USDA’s catfish inspection program.
Meanwhile, Diversified Communications confirmed some of our earlier estimates that attendance was down during this year's Seafood Expo Global in Brussels. Total visitors and exhibitors for the 2016 show dropped to 22,160 17 percent compared to last year's figure attendees. However, exhibitors did say the quality of the buyers was higher, as more casual visitors were less likely to attend.
Finally, the 2016 Bristol Bay salmon season officially opens today with a run forecast to reach 30 million sockeye with another 2 million returning to the Peninsula rivers. Peggy Parker recaps the forecasted runs and harvests from each of the fishery's five districts. The peak of the Bristol Bay season usually doesn't hit until early July.
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