Evolution of tilapia and panga prices in the second quarter of 2022

Historically, the price of the world’s top-consuming farm fillets, tilapia and pangasius, had an established trend throughout the year.

Despite being farmed fish, with a relatively stable availability (not dependent on catches or closures), the variation in demand varied prices considerably over the year.

The typical graphic showed a price rise early in the year, until spring (due to the factories’ stoppage during the Chinese New Year and Vietnamese TET), and then a downfall and stabilization, that extended from late June to late July or early August.

From there, the big buying companies started planning their schedules for the end of the year (thinking of Christmas and Easter), and this increase in demand, particularly marked by the buyers of the United States, led to the beginning of the price rise, which was already running until the new year.

This trend, with its particularities, had been repeated until the advent of the pandemic.

The explosion of previously unconceived variables has made the market much more volatile.

The price of freight (both rising and falling), the price of energy, the uncertainty of the markets and other factors have meant that the usual trend has not been repeated this second half of 2022.

The price remained relatively high during the first half of the year, and the drop began in the spring as planned.

Since then, the adjustment of the freight rate (lower than in recent months) and the uncertainty of the markets in the face of an economic recession, have made the price stable and even, in some cases or production areas, adjusted downwards.

In addition, the policy of freeing tariffs for these products in the countries with the highest consumption has not been the one expected, which has discouraged the purchases of large importers, helping to prevent price inflation.

In conclusion, it is a very good time for those buyers who are looking for a very competitive price, with relatively short delivery availability.