Ireland’s salmon sector hit hard by soaring raw material costs for organic farming

Soaring raw material costs are becoming a growing problem for Europe’s aquaculture industry and the broader retail value chain, according to speakers at a recent webinar organized by the European Commission’s European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EUMOFA),

In particular, Ireland’s salmon-farming industry, which is entirely focused on the delivery of organic products, is suffering as a result of higher prices for raw materials. While Ireland is a modest producer of farmed salmon compared with Norway and Scotland, it is Europe’s foremost producer of organic fish, harvesting between 15,000 and 20,000 metric tons (MT) annually.

Mowi Ireland Director of Farming Operations Catherine McManus said the industry’s shift to 100 percent organic, achieved over the past decade, came about because the country couldn’t compete with the production costs of the other European countries …

Photo courtesy of Mowi