Spanish Exports are on the Rise for Seabass and Seabream

Both seabass and seabream have seen record export volumes, especially for seabream exports. 

Last time we looked at what has happened in the world of seabass and seabream, we saw that there was an increased supply of fresh whole seabream and decreased supply of seabass from Turkey and an overall 9% increase in feed sales. Diving into the latest, what has happened lately of noteworthy changes?

For the month of August, we noticed that Spanish exports are on the rise. Export of seabream almost tripled compared to export volumes in July. For seabass, on the other hand, the increase in export volume has been a bit slower but we also saw that volumes had tripled between May and August. When looking at a longer perspective, pre-Gloria and pre-COVID, we see that export volumes for both species have reached record volume, especially for seabream exports. Of the seabass produced in Spain, roughly 70% was sold and consumed domestically and around 75% of seabream was sold and consumed domestically. Following the storm Gloria in early 2020, domestic production plummeted, and the gap was filled by fish coming from Greece. Combined with the increased import from Greece this has lead to a high supply of fish in the Spanish market and thus a strong increase in bass and bream export from Spain.

We also saw that in November, the export volumes for Turkish seabass, compared to last year’s, keep declining. As a result, prices of whole fresh imported seabass from Turkey increased further, reaching yet another record. Wholesale prices for seabass are also on the rise and both in Spain and France wholesale prices of seabass are on the higher end.

This is an extraction from our Monthly Seabass and Seabream report. Want to be up to date on news such as this? Subscribe to our monthly report today.

Image: Shutterstock by zarzamora