Catches of pink salmon are so bad that canning crews, many of them students on seasonal summer jobs, are already packing up and leaving Alaska ahead of schedule. After last year's glut ­ 144 million pinks were caught in the US ­ catch figures were barely struggling past the 35 million point as of August 11. In theory there might be two weeks of packing left to run. "But we'll be lucky if the pack makes 70 million pinks this year and probably not even that if the lines start shutting down earlier than normal," said one importer. The US home market ­ driven by talls ­ will take preference over product for export. As much of 70% of an average pack can go into pink talls. This is likely to leave foreign buyers severely short of pink halves. In the UK, pink tall retails are likely to hit £1.29 and there will not be much change ­ if any ­ from £1 for pink halves once the current promotions finish. "Once again, reds and pinks will be linked. But, for the first time in years, instead of buying pinks to be allowed some reds, customers will be buying reds to get pinks." There is no doubt as to whom has the whip hand in buying pink salmon at present. But as the salad season tails off, UK multiples could stretch what stocks they buy by pulling back facings over the quiet winter months. There are no carryover stocks of halves to fall back on. Canadian packers concentrate on halves and quarters, though ­ and their catches may not have been hit as badly as those in the US. {{PROVISIONS }}

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