Raw material price-hikes becoming harder for Europe to swallow

The cost of raw materials for both fish processing and aquaculture production have soared across Europe this past year.

While prices were already high thanks to the effects and supply chain uncertainties created by the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the resulting international sanctions exacerbated the situation and sparked even more-dramatic increases for these essential inputs. Of almost equal importance to the seafood economy and its markets – energy prices have also soared.

Outlining the industry’s present position to a recent webinar organized by the European Commission’s European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EUMOFA), Mike Turenhout, a fisheries and trade expert with the Dutch Fish Federation (Visfederatie) and a member of the E.U. Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE-CEP) said the region’s low self-sufficiency when it comes to seafood has made it especially vulnerable to the impacts of global price surges ... 

Photo courtesy of EUMOFA