SANTIAGO – Chile’s coho salmon is attracting more salmon buyers in several Asian countries, including Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, even as its rising demand has boosted the price by almost $1/kg year-on-year.
One of the main reasons is that it is cheaper than Atlantic salmon.
Over 90% of coho produced in Chile is consumed in Japan. But, the coho market share in other South-East Asian markets has reportedly risen from zero to approximately 20%.
Prices for headed and gutted (H&G), frozen coho have increased to about $7.20 per kilogram, up from about $6.40/kg last year.
The new coho season will start in October and prices at that time will depend on the Atlantic salmon price level, which has become a strong driver for coho prices.
The current price for frozen 5-6kg, head-on, Atlantic salmon is around 7.8kg, so coho is much cheaper.
Chilean coho salmon prices in Japan jumped to their highest level since 2014 in December 2016, driven by low availability of salmon and delayed shipments from Chile.
The average price for frozen, headed and gutted coho, size 4-6kg, are currently at JPY 865/kg.
