September - December 2006 ASPR
Alaska Department of Revenue released the September-December 2006 Alaska Salmon Price Report (ASPR) in late February. Due to the low sales volume of fresh fillet and fresh H&G salmon during the period, those products are not included in the summary table and discussion.
Average wholesale prices for frozen H&G salmon in September – December of 2006 are up sharply over the same period in 2005, for every species except sockeye. Chinook price shows the largest percentage growth but relatively minor sales volume, slightly over one million pounds. Both pink and chum show impressive percentage growth figures in unit value, though the actual price increases are relatively modest, up 21 cents and 15 cents per pound, respectively. The most significant price increase is for coho, up 83 cents per pound (43 percent) on relatively strong sales volume of 5.8 million pounds.
The available data for frozen fillet products shows a similar price increase in frozen coho fillets, up $1.03 per pound (30 percent) from the same period a year ago. Sockeye fillet price is at a similar level ($4.30 per pound) but this reflects a modest 3 percent increase from September – December 2005.
One interesting development in fillet products is the major increase in production of frozen sockeye and coho fillets in 2006. Combined production volume nearly doubled, from 8.5 million pounds in 2005 to 15.3 million in 2006. Through December 2006, a substantial volume of frozen sockeye and coho fillets (5.4 million pounds) remained unsold.
Pink and chum comprise about three-quarters of salmon roe production. Both species show significant value gains in the September – December period of 2006. Average first wholesale price is up 19 percent for pink and 9 percent for chum, attributed to strengthening roe markets in Europe.
2005 & 2006 ASPR Annual Totals, Fresh and Frozen
The Seafood Market Information Service tracks ASPR salmon data closely and compiles the three reporting periods into a single, annual table for sales of fresh and frozen products including roe. Canned salmon is addressed separately elsewhere in this bulletin.
The individual four-month ASPR reports provide valuable data for comparison of specific products and specific time periods, but the combined reports provide a big-picture overview of Alaska salmon wholesale volume and value over the course of a full year. It should be noted that the ASPR data series only captures production, sales and price data from Alaska salmon processors that handle over one million pounds of salmon annually. While the ASPR series captures the lion’s share of Alaska salmon production and sales activity, it is not all-inclusive.
The annual sales figures for fresh and frozen products captured in the ASPR show a minor increase in volume, up 9 percent from 271 million pounds in 2005 to 296 million pounds in 2006. The increase in total value is more significant, up 19 percent from $472 million in 2005 to $562 million in 2006.
In terms of total unit value (including roe and meat products) chum salmon showed the strongest growth, up 28 percent in terms of per-pound value. Sockeye remains, by far, the value leader in fresh and frozen products, despite a slight decrease in per-pound value in 2006.
