Premium size Norwegian line-caught haddock is fetching anything up to £2.80 (€3.30/$4.50) per kilo on auction at the moment, Ken Wood, business development manager at Carisma UK, told IntraFish.
“We’ve seen trawler-caught haddock start to move upwards as well, but not to such a dramatic price as line-caught, while fresh haddock has been making a premium on the Grimsby market,” Wood said.
'People will just switch off'
There will be a point where people will just switch off, however, another UK buyer told IntraFish, although this hasn’t happened just yet.
“I think what is happening is people have tried to transfer their haddock business to cod without it being successful because retailers do not switch products so quickly, and there are also a lot of people buying haddock to service existing contracts fast,” th buyer said.
“There will have to be a point when people say, 'We just can’t supply it anymore,' but when that will be is the $64 million question.”
According to the buyer, headed & gutted (H&G) prices are currently standing at more than £4,000 (€4,745/$6,418) a metric ton. When negotiating future contracts, suppliers are quoting as much as 20 percent above this on some lines, he said.
“If you are looking to forward buy at China at the moment, with a shipment in November time, prices are up maybe 15-20 percent on where they were last time you placed a contract,” he told IntraFish.
Additionally, people who are buying cod at the moment are probably using that to get access to haddock.
“There is an abundance of cod and people have cod so if you can throw any cod business to a possible supplier, you are going to want to make sure you get some haddock as well with that because everybody has the cod,” the buyer said.
But simply, the biggest problem is that there is a shortage of haddock available for the market, he said.
Quotas
The supply of haddock has been, and continues to be constrained, confirmed Jon Stefansson, head of research at Marko Partners, which has affected the price and kept it relatively high for most of the year. This trend is likely to continue for some time.
“There has been some substitution – cod being substituted for haddock – in those markets where the supply is constrained, but maybe not to the extent that you would have expected,” Stefansson said.
Meanwhile, until the quotas have been decided and are out there in “black and white," no one knows what is going to happen to haddock, added Ken Wood. “But I forecast a very difficult year ahead on haddock,” he said.
In particular, buyers are concerned with reports quotas could fall a further 20 percent next year on top of the 20 percent drop that happened this year, which would add up to “quite a severe drop,” one buyer said.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a fairly strong upward trend in 2025, Vietnam’s clam exports entered 2026 with a mixed picture: strong growth at the beginning of the year, followed by a slowdown from March onward. According to Vietnam Customs data, Vietnam’s clam export turnover in the first four months of 2026 reached more than USD 38 million, up 2% compared to the same period in 2025.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius industry is facing new opportunities to expand its development space as many localities and businesses begin promoting marine farming models aimed at diversifying farming areas and adapting to climate change. However, for pangasius to truly “go offshore” and develop into a large-scale industry segment, significant challenges related to technology, broodstock, and markets still need to be addressed.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tilapia exports in April 2026 reached USD 11 million, up 92% compared to the same period in 2025. This strong growth indicates that Vietnamese tilapia products are continuing to penetrate and expand rapidly in international markets. Cumulative export turnover in the first four months of 2026 reached USD 49 million, up 151% year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com) At VietShrimp Asia 2026, disease management trends in shrimp farming are shifting strongly from treatment-based approaches toward proactive prevention through environmental and pond ecosystem control.
(vasep.com.vn) After a period of strong growth, with export turnover reaching USD 38 million in Q1/2026 — up 174% year-on-year — the sector’s rapid expansion clearly reflects growing market opportunities.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the ASEAN bloc reached USD 44 million, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025. After falling to the lowest level of the quarter at USD 9 million in February — reflecting the seasonal slowdown in orders after the festive period — exports recovered strongly to USD 18 million in March, the highest monthly value of the quarter. This development shows that import demand for pangasius in ASEAN remains relatively stable despite short-term fluctuations.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On May 11, 2026, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a positive comparability finding for Vietnam’s swimming crab fisheries, along with those of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With this decision, seafood and seafood products harvested from Vietnam’s swimming crab fisheries will continue to be eligible for import into the US market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a slowdown in 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Germany showed more positive signs in the first quarter of 2026. However, the recovery remains uncertain as consumer demand in Germany is still cautious, while market competition is increasingly driven by pricing and supply stability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a sharp decline in 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Israel are showing positive signs of recovery in the early months of 2026. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover to this market grew steadily month by month in Q1/2026, reaching nearly USD 10 million, up 33% compared to the same period in 2025. However, compared to Q1/2024, this level remains significantly lower, indicating that the recovery is still in its early stage following last year’s strong adjustment.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Entering 2026, the U.S. whitefish market has shown complex developments as global cod supply continues to tighten, while the U.S. trade environment becomes less stable. In this context, the U.S. market has had to become more flexible in sourcing alternative whitefish. However, relying heavily on Alaska pollock is not a long-term solution, as it is a strictly managed fishery with quotas and sustainability regulations, limiting any rapid increase in output to offset cod shortages.
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