Iceland's current haddock harvest stands at around 62,000 metric tons, 27% (13,000t) ahead of the same period last year, reports Tradex, a British Columbia, Canada-based wholesaler in its latest 3-Minute Market Insight.

"If the fishing pace continues similarly to last year, up to an additional 20,000t could be harvested by the year's end," Tradex noted.

The abundance of haddock coming from Iceland should more than compensate for the 10% decline in the catch in the haddock fishery jointly managed by Norway and Russia. That fishery has so far yielded approximately 64,000t this year — about 10% (7,300t) behind last year's pace, according to the wholesaler.

Norwegian haddock harvesters have halted their direct fishing efforts and are instead opting to handle the remaining quota as bycatch, it noted.

In 2022, Norway's and Russia's combined harvest totaled about 91,000t, surpassing the five-year average. Norway, Russia, and Iceland are the world's top-producing countries for haddock supplying over 75% of the 300,000t harvested globally each year, according to Tradex.

Raw materials pricing out of China has hovered around $3,900 per metric ton all summer for Russian fish, while Norwegian fish has maintained a price of around $4,300/t, it reported.

read also

Russian, Norwegian H&G haddock prices firm for China with lack of supply, cod stable

"Although these prices are almost $1,000 more than last year, 2023 may have been an outlier driven by unique supply-demand dynamics and global economic factors, as haddock pricing throughout 2024 [is] similar to 2022 and 2021," the wholesaler said.

With Pacific and Atlantic cod and pollock in short supply, haddock presents itself as a strong alternative, Tradex advises.

The company recommends acting swiftly on available haddock offers, as prices may face additional upward pressure. It also stresses that Russian-origin haddock remains available for import into the US, as it is not subject to any bans.