USDA nears record buying total as it seeks more Alaska pollock

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is aiming to buy another significant amount of Alaska pollock, after already making several purchases earlier this year.

The USDA is asking suppliers to bid on 7.6 millions pounds of pollock for its National School Lunch Program and other federal food and nutrition assistance programs. The deadline for bids is 21 June, 2022.

If the agency is able to purchase all 7.6 million pounds, it will make this year the second-highest purchase year on record for both volume and value, Genuine Association of Alaska Pollock Producers CEO Craig Morris told SeafoodSource.

Winning bidders must deliver frozen fish pollock sticks, fillets, and nuggets to numerous U.S. cities between November 2022 and January 2023.

In May, the USDA purchased 3.2 million pounds of pollock  USD 9.96 million (EUR 9.6 million). The USDA’s fiscal0year 2022 purchases reached nearly 10 million pounds of pollock tha tmonth, with contracts valued at USD 31.5 million (EUR 30 million), Morris said.

In addition, the average delivered price of USD 3.65 (EUR 3.50) per pound for Alaska pollock fish sticks is the highest delivered price ever for the product, Morris said.

Seattle, Washington, US.A.- based Trident Seafoods won the vast majority of the USDA's pollock contract awarded in May 2022 at USD 9.7 milion (EUR 9.3 million), while Seattle-based American Seafoods will supply USD 274,000 (EUR 262,000) worth of Alaska pollock.  

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