Russian salmon roe market facing short supply

At present the price for roe in sacks varies from RUB450 for less valuable salmonids to RUB600 for chum salmon while the price for salted caviar in cube containers differs from RUB950 to RUB1100 per kilo.

Despite favourable forecasts, the players estimate that the salmon catch in the first ten-day period of August 2008 totals only about 54% from the figures of 2007. In this situation the gap supply of the roe production from the new season will be offset with the carry-over inventories of the frozen roe left in considerable quantities from the previous year.

There are also reports that Russian importers have been actively buying up the roe of US origin. And it is likely that the importers, who reportedly made contracts for deliveries of American roe at the last exhibition in Brussels, have made the right choice.

Besides in Alaska the catch of pink salmon is also reportedly poor. According to provisional data as per early August, the catch totals just under 23 million fishes while the forecast is 61.5 million of fishes.

Meanwhile, the scientists say that in August salmon fishing season in Russia will continue in Kamchatka-Kurile subarea where the catch may cover up to 70-75% of annual chum quota.

During this period the bulk of sockeye in the river Ozernaya is expected to be caught as well.

In Sakhalin the more intensive run of pink salmon to the rivers of the East Sakhalin subarea is expected. Here since the first ten-day period of August 2008 there has been chum fishery which will peak in September. The pink salmon runs in the South Kurile waters were also expected to be abundant already since the beginning of August. As predicted, its catch in August may total 75-80% from the forecast of 40.7 thousand tonnes.

Take-up of salmon TACs broken between areas and species in January-July 2008