Prices are soaring as catches of major marine products, including mackerel and squid, known as “national fish,” have declined drastically. It is an analysis that concerns about “fish inflation” are growing due to overlapping negative events such as abnormal climate, high water temperature, and high exchange rates.
According to the Fisheries Industry Observation Center of the Korea Marine Fisheries Development Institute on the 30th, mackerel production last month was 6993 tons, a sharp drop of 61.5% from the same month last year and 45.3% from a normal year. It is analyzed that the number of working days decreased due to the Chuseok holiday and frequent bad weather, and the continuous rise in seawater temperature accelerated the decline in catches. In particular, the share of medium and large mackerel, which is highly favored by consumers, was only 4.6% this year (January-October) and dropped to one-third of last year (12.9%).
The decline in catches immediately led to a rise in prices. Last month, the consumer price of mackerel (fresh and chilled) was 12,131 won per kilogram, up 10.5% from the previous year and 16.8% from the normal year.
The situation is similar for squid. Last month, the production of squid produced from lotus root was 926 tons, 21.8% lower than last year and 84.1% lower than normal. This is the result of the simultaneous impact of the decline in lotus root sea production and the reduction in the import volume of ocean products. The consumer price was also 20,3187 won per kilogram, up 19.8% from the previous year and 24.6% from a normal year.
Since mackerel and squid are items that are highly dependent on imports, the testicular exchange rate also encouraged price increases. According to data from the Marine Fisheries Development Institute, as of 2022, the import dependency reached 46.3% for mackerel and 63% for squid. Furthermore, due to the mackerel catch limit (quota system) implemented by Norway in 2021, the import volume decreased, and the price pressure increased even more.
Other popular fish species are also on the rise. According to the Korea Agriculture and Fisheries Food Distribution Corporation (aT), as of the end of last month, the price of a frozen pollock was 4217 won (+9% compared to a normal year), and the frozen one was 1,421 won (+13.5% compared to a normal year).
There is also a clear increase in the price of marine products in overall prices. According to the National Data Agency's Consumer Price Trend Survey, the seafood price index rose 5.9% in October compared to the previous year, and recorded the highest increase in 3 years since October 2022. Among the 15 marine products surveyed by the Bureau of Statistics, the prices of 11 items, including shellfish, mackerel, shrimp, seaweed, and squid, jumped all at once.
As the decline in fishery product production is likely to prolong due to structural factors such as abnormal climate, high water temperature phenomena, and global supply and demand unease, it is predicted that the “burden on table prices” will increase even more ahead of winter.
