The heavily discounted offers on red salmon 213g appear on retailers' shelves this week, with some electing for the straight price cut of 99p and others giving a bogof based on £1.97 a can. So far, own labels do not seem to be involved, leaving the proprietary brands to lead the deals. This discounting coincides with news from Canada that the threat by British Columbia Department of Fisheries to close the Fraser River could become a reality. Rumours have been circulating for some weeks that in order to conserve the depleted Adams River run, it could mean total closure of the whole Fraser River system. Sources in Vancouver close to the Provincial authorities say pressure is growing from varying interested parties to go ahead with a fishing ban. The outlook for Alaska remains unchanged in spite of the early activity by Japanese frozen buyers who set higher than expected prices for the early Copper River Fish. Last season, in the absence of interest from Japan, some of the early run reds were canned and sold in the UK, albeit at a premium as the quality is above average. Whether the frozen market will have an impact on Bristol Bay red pricing remains a concern of UK importers who will need to replenish stocks, assuming the current discounted deals clear old season product. Working against the UK market will be the dollar exchange rate, which will make the new season products at least 15% more expensive, even if the f.o.b. prices are the same as last season. {{M/E CANNED GOODS }}

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