Oversupply of seabass and seabream during 2013 made for a difficult year as low prices, rising costs and tight credit caused severe damage to company results. In most markets, the attractive prices led to increased consumption and imports. Italy, the largest market for bass and bream imports, was stagnant, whereas non-traditional markets were extremely positive including the UK, the USA, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

With a surplus of supply depressing prices and margins, 2013 was a difficult year for producers. However, during the final weeks of the year and in January, prices have been strengthening somewhat as some producers are out of market sized fish. Given the growth cycle of the fish, this is a general pattern that is repeated most years, following a trend in which prices firm during the first two quarters and then decline as the new production comes to market.

What changes from year to year is therefore not so much the cyclical price trends throughout the year but the absolute level of prices. During the last couple of years, the average prices have been low and insufficient to cover all costs for many producers. In a situation of weak demand, tight credit and rising feed costs, this has pushed many of the industry players into the red, or worse.

Overall supply likely to contract in 2014

As a reaction to the low prices during 2013, many producers in both Greece and Turkey have decided to stock less for the 2014 harvest. This should lead to a market with a better balance between supply and demand, allowing prices and margins to improve.

During 2013, Turkey saw both production and exports grow rapidly whereas Greece, traditionally the largest producer, saw volumes and shipments decline. It is likely that both countries will see exports drop slightly during 2014 as the number of juveniles and average harvest weights are expected to fall.

The recent depreciation of the Turkish Lira, will increase the relative competiveness of Turkish producers although higher costs on imported feed must also be considered.

Bass and bream should still remain attractive for consumers despite some increases from previous levels seen during 2012 and 2013. 

Markets: Attractive prices move volumes during 2013

Italy: Flat market as low prices fail to attract consumers

Italy confirms its position as the major market for bass and bream species in Europe. However, there is no volume growth over the last few years, and despite low prices, consumers seem unwilling to take advantage of the situation to increase their consumption. This is a reflection of the general weakness of the Italian market and other seafood species have suffered the same impact.

Spain: Imports rebound giving rise to cautious optimism

After a number of years with declining import volumes, shipments to Spain showed a positive trend in 2013 with imports up almost 40% compared with the same period during the previous year. Bass in particular caught renewed interest with shipments from Turkey up 375% and Greece 42%. Spanish domestic production declined somewhat in 2013 but could rise again in 2014 also thanks to increased exports to neighbouring countries, including Portugal.

France: Positive market after weak 2012

French consumers reacted favourably to the attractive prices offered during most of 2013 with import volumes for the first nine months up by 26% to reach 12 500 tonnes for the two species, an all time high record. Imports are dominated by Greece and Spain.

UK: Sustained demand keeps market growing

The UK market for bass and bream continues its extremely positive long-term trend with import volumes up 8% during the first 9 months of 2013. Consumption is 66% bass, demonstrating the UK consumer’s slight preference of bass over bream. 

Germany: Strong demand boosted by attractive prices during 2013

The price sensitive German market has welcomed the lower prices during 2013 with sustained growth in imports and consumption of bream in particular. Greece remains the main supplier but Turkey is gaining market share rapidly. Total imports for the first three quarters reached 4 400 tonnes, up 1 300 tonnes from the previous year.

US: Robust growth in demand for fresh imports

The growth of the US market for fresh bass and bream species is remarkable. Fresh bass dominates imports with Greece and Turkey as the main suppliers, reaching 2 000 (+16%) and 600 (+249%) tonnes respectively for the first 11 months of 2013 with total bass imports now at 3 700 tonnes, up 61% from the same period in 2013. Bass shipments from Spain to the US were up 68% reaching 250 tonnes. Interestingly, some volumes are being supplied by Central American producers such as Guatemala, El Salvador as well as Trinidad and Tobago.  Fresh bream imports for the period were more modest at 400 tonnes with 250 tonnes coming from Greece. However, this was 38% more than the previous year.

Frozen bass imports for the same period reached 3 000 tonnes but with very little coming from Europe. It is likely that this product category includes different bass species than those found in the European market. 

Ukraine: An emerging market concentrated in and around Kiev

Ukrainian imports of bass and bream in 2013 increased impressively, largely due to the opening of new restaurants, retail chains and specialized fish stores in Kiev, increasing consumer awareness and sales of these two species. Though consumption of bass and bream has increased, demand is mostly concentrated in Kiev and the Kiev region, where the species are marketed as upper-income status symbols. These areas account for almost 70% of all bass and bream consumption in the country.

In 2013, bream imports grew 2.4 times compared with the previous year, reaching 1 000 tonnes. Bass imports grew nearly 2 times to 500 tonnes. Turkey was the number one supplying country, due to their attractive prices and lower transport costs when compared to other producing countries. There is also a certain niche for ultra-premium bass and bream species, which includes high-quality bass and bream from Croatia and large bass and bream (600+ g) imported from the Netherlands.

Following the recent migration trends of consumers leaving the Ukrainian regions to move to Kiev or abroad, the consumption of bass and bream in the Ukrainian regions is decreasing, while it is generally growing in Kiev and the Kiev region.