The ongoing quiet in cuttlefish trade continued in 2015. Japanese imports were stable with 2014 figures at around 12 000-13 000 tonnes, with main suppliers Thailand, Viet Nam and Morocco maintaining their relative positions. However, looking at the longer term trend, Japanese cuttlefish imports since 2010 have declined by about one third, from 18 900 tonnes in 2010 to 12 500 tonnes in 2015.
In contrast, Spanish cuttlefish imports have increased slightly in 2015. Imports rose from 26 000 tonnes in 2014 to 28 700 tonnes in 2015. However, similarly to the declining Japanese trend, this figure is still significantly below the volumes imported in the beginning of this decade. Indeed, Spain imported 53 700 tonnes of cuttlefish in 2010.

Prices

After having demonstrated a growing price trend since mid-2013, Japanese import prices for octopus fell sharply in the beginning of 2015, then stabilized, and finally began declining again towards the end of the year. A similar trend was registered for Spanish imports of octopus. However, in Spain, prices rose until mid-2015, and then started a rapid decline.

Squid prices in Spain have been somewhat more stable over the past year, although there were some ups and downs during the last half of 2015. For instance, imports of patagonian squid fell dramatically in July 2015, which resulted in prices shooting up. In the Republic of Korea, squid prices have been on a long decline since the second quarter of 2015.

Cuttlefish prices have been declining for some time, but showed signs of improving in Japan during the fourth quarter of 2015. Cuttlefish prices in Europe, on the other hand, were on a steady, but slow decline for most of 2015.