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) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
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