It’s a new age in whitefish pricing. At just over $4 a pound for fresh fillets, tilapia is holding the ceiling for all $2.50 to $4.50 range whitefish, and cod is far from it, but it wasn’t long ago that cod and tilapia were priced relatively similarly.
In September of 2008, four ounce loins of Pacific cod, twice frozen, sold for about $3.70 per pound, just barely less than the $3.90 price for C&S three to five ounce tilapia fillets at that time.
This reality has changed dramatically, as tilapia went on to edge up in price while cod dropped. As of September of 2012, tilapia of the same specification sold at about $4.10 per pound while the same cod specification sold for about $3.90, showing a gap widening from $0.20 to $1.30.
A return to the old days appears unlikely considering US fresh tilapia supply has trended down for the past few years and is not poised to increase.
US imports went from 25,000 metric tons in 2012 to 23,069 in 2013 mostly from less production out of Ecuador, as farmers convert their ponds from tilapia to shrimp. A switch back is unlikely, said Regal Springs director Jim Bruffy, who expects a light drop in supply this year, offset by increased production from Regal Springs new operation in southern Mexico.
Meanwhile, cod supply has trended up in recent years, and that trend is also expected to continue as projections show the global supply of cod this year increasing from 1.78 million metric tons to 1.82 million t, according to the groundfish forum.