In a general way, the price of tuna for the end of this year is stable and should stay firm until the end of January, despite biological bans in the Indian Ocean, in East Africa and the East Pacific.

There are few sales of tuna in Europe. The price of pouches and cans of tuna remains high, and should not change until the end of January.

Remember the big increase suffered by all the markets before summer and more particularly in Thailand, when prices had reached 2150 USD/t because of a scarcity of raw materials in this area.

This period is not so far away: during July and August, the producers have tried to buy less in order to hold down prices. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

Indeed, the quotas of the beginning of the year with reduced customs duties in Europe use to favour the market in September and October, but this year will certainly not experience the same decreases of the passed year (1300 USD/t in January 2011) because prices are already too high! 

The attempt of decrease failed because the Western and Eastern fishing areas were in biological watch, the offer was thus downwards and the demand upwards…

The trend is consequently the stabilization of prices in a high price range (>1850 USD/t) in Thailand and Ecuador.

Regarding the fishing activity, it has started again in Ecuador but the second period of biological watch from 15/11 to 15/01 wouldn’t favour the decrease.

All these elements would produce a firm price until the end of the year. The recent events in Thailand (big floods freezing the production) could also have an unfavourable effect.