A leading distributor of Scottish farmed salmon has warned more companies will go bust this year if supermarkets and further processors do not pay a better price.
Willie Liston, MD of Sea Products of Scotland, said farms would not be able to break even unless the supply side achieved a minimum price of £2.25/kg ex Glasgow prior to distribution.
Jitters have been sent through the mainland industry by the recent receiverships of three Shetland suppliers - Hennover Salmon, Skerries Salmon and SSG Seafoods. Annual output of the three combined was 12,500 tonnes.
Shetland has supplied roughly one third of Scottish farmed salmon output of 145,000 tonnes and now some fear the sector will shrink 50% in the next few years. “Processors and supermarkets will not convince me that at £2.25/kg consumer demand will be affected,” said Liston. “We are not asking for a quantum leap. Market prices have been at £1.75 and at best £2.10 and this is reflected in farms’ financial results.
“It is a desperate situation. Everyone is suffering. Every single farm is under the twin pincer of the banks and the feed companies. But it cannot go on like this. And there isn’t anyone out there to rescue them by taking these companies over.
“I do not think that the supermarkets and processors appreciate the depth of the problem and the losses racked up over the last two years. The situation is unsustainable.”
The Scottish industry has been dogged by low supply side prices for two years. The government has now called on the EU to restrict the imports of cheap salmon from non-EU producers like Norway, the Faroes and Chile.
Willie Liston, MD of Sea Products of Scotland, said farms would not be able to break even unless the supply side achieved a minimum price of £2.25/kg ex Glasgow prior to distribution.
Jitters have been sent through the mainland industry by the recent receiverships of three Shetland suppliers - Hennover Salmon, Skerries Salmon and SSG Seafoods. Annual output of the three combined was 12,500 tonnes.
Shetland has supplied roughly one third of Scottish farmed salmon output of 145,000 tonnes and now some fear the sector will shrink 50% in the next few years. “Processors and supermarkets will not convince me that at £2.25/kg consumer demand will be affected,” said Liston. “We are not asking for a quantum leap. Market prices have been at £1.75 and at best £2.10 and this is reflected in farms’ financial results.
“It is a desperate situation. Everyone is suffering. Every single farm is under the twin pincer of the banks and the feed companies. But it cannot go on like this. And there isn’t anyone out there to rescue them by taking these companies over.
“I do not think that the supermarkets and processors appreciate the depth of the problem and the losses racked up over the last two years. The situation is unsustainable.”
The Scottish industry has been dogged by low supply side prices for two years. The government has now called on the EU to restrict the imports of cheap salmon from non-EU producers like Norway, the Faroes and Chile.
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