The activity in the world tuna market is low, in part due to the economic
situation, but also because buyers feel that raw material and end prices will continue to go down.
The skipjack raw material price had gone down from $2350/MT in April to $1900/MT in the months of July-September (a period when prices traditionally move UP), due to good catch and a slow market. It had further dropped to $1850/MT for raw material deliveries to packers in October.
However, today it jumped to $1950, and nobody seems able to forecast future prices. Packers think that they have hit the bottom and have nowhere to go but up, and discussions at this week’s Anuga Fair might be the key to the market.
