Octopus supplies from Morocco are suffering from reduced quotas and catches, while the cuttlefish market is quiet.

Japanese imports of octopus declined in 2010, and this trend is continuing in 2011, according to recently published statistics on Japanese imports. During the first quarter of 2011, Japanese octopus imports fell by over 16%, to just 6 200 tonnes.

Again, tight supplies must take the main share of the blame for this development. The traditional suppliers, Mauritania and Morocco, are still landing less than in previous years, and for Morocco the situation is grave. Exports from Morocco to Japan fell dramatically in the first quarter of 2011, from 2 500 tonnes in the same period in 2010 to just 300 tonnes in 2011. Shipments from Mauritania were stable at 2 000 tonnes.

China, in contrast, continued to capture market share in Japan. Chinese exports of octopus to Japan grew by almost 18% during the first quarter, and China is now as big a supplier to Japan as Mauritania.

Prices on the wholesale market in Japan dropped noticeably in December 2010 and continued to decline until May this year. Prices now appear to be recovering slightly, but in general it seems that this is just a small variation in the declining part of the cycle.

Spain has also suffered from diminishing supplies,especially from its main supplier, Morocco. Moroccan exports to Spain during the first quarter of 2011 declined by 1 800 tonnes, or almost 28%, compared with the same period last year. Last year, Spanish total imports also fell compared with 2009, by 16.6%. Smaller shipments from both Morocco and Mauritania were mainly responsible for the decline in imports.

One important reason for this could be that Italy is getting its supplies of octopus from different suppliers compared with Japan and Spain. Morocco and Mauritania only account for a small portion of Italian imports, while suppliers such as Mexico, Tunisia and Indonesia are more important for Italy.

While octopus prices in Japan have been on the rise lately, in Europe they seem to be rather flat. For T8 sizes there was even a slight dip in early July.

There may be some good news on the way for the supply situation, at least in the long run. From Honduras it is reported that aquaculture production of octopus - or as it is called “production in captivity” - may soon be a reality. The project is a co-operative effort between Honduran authorities and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Although the main reason for this project does not seem to be to create a larger and more stable supply of octopus, but rather to control the sizes that are harvested, it is nevertheless an interesting development. Attempts at aquaculture production of cephalopods have been made before, but with limited success.

Finally, as a curiosity, mention must be made that the octopus oracle who correctly predicted the outcome of eight matches during the 2010 Soccer World Cup has died. "Paul the Octopus" was two and a half years old.