Prices for headed-and-gutted (H&G) Alaska pollock from Russia are rising and are now over $1,400 (€1,070) per metric ton, with Chinese plants still buying, despite higher labor costs and a weak European market.
At the same time, US pollock companies are offering lower prices for single frozen, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified, Alaska pollock blocks to European buyers, sources said.
Buyers, however, are still reticent to purchase, thinking prices will fall further.
“There is a bubble, a strange bubble,” said a China plant manager, on his way back from the Boston seafood show.
“I thought Boston would be the deal breaker for Alaska pollock block orders, but it seems that the bubble has not burst,” said Dmitry Fedotov, founder of Hong Hong-based supplier Superocean. “Many expected it would solve the price situation with the Russian originated pollock and the American competition, but it didn’t seem to.”
US companies are rumored to be offering prices of around $3,150 (€2,408), even as low as $3,100 (€2,370) per metric ton in Europe, he told IntraFish.
Prices for H&G from Russia to China are at roughly $1,400 (€1,070) cost and freight (CNF), which is driven by demand from Chinese processing plants, he said.
Chinese processors are forced to buy, or they will have to close plants, he said. “One Qingdao-based processor, who has been in the pollock business for 20 years, said he is having to look at doing something else, as it is just not a good business to be in now.”
However, despite the talk of a “bubble,” most Chinese plants keep buying because they fear two things: firstly, that the prices keep increasing and, secondly, that they won’t have enough stock to support the whole year of production, said a trader from China.
“According to my conversation with several plants last week, I think currently most of the pollock buyers are plants in Dalian and Yantai, for processing and re-exporting to Brazil, the Middle East and United States, which tolerate sodium triphosphate (STPP) which increases the yield rate and lower production cost,” he told IntraFish.
However, using STPP will only work for so long, said the source.
“Just like the stock market, despite a good catch, ‘buying’ itself makes a ‘bubble,’ and everyone is involved in it, until they can’t afford the production cost even with use of STPP.”
The first source from China agrees.
"Firstly, the single-frozen block price is going down. Secondly, sales of twice-frozen products are very slow,” he told IntraFish.
"Not many Chinese plants are buying the new season's fish. Thirdly, catching is good in Russia," he said. “All of these factors do not support the fact that the pollock price goes up.”
Lars Nielsen, production director with Royal Greenland, one of Europe’s largest block buyers for its plants in Germany and Poland, also sees pricing picture he said “doesn’t fit.”
“I am confident that H&G prices are driven by Chinese to secure raw material for their workers, but also I believe they buy small batches, and prices in the market are based on very small ‘real sale’ and inventory is building up in China,” Nielsen told IntraFish.
“We have to wait and see how things progress, but things don’t fit, H&G are driven by empty factory demand, and MSC by marked demand, the Chinese are all over trying to sell double frozen blocks,” he said.
The demand for double frozen blocks from China is weak and it is unlikely the Chinese plants will be able to get higher prices, said the source from China.
“I do not think twice frozen prices will go up, since demand is weak, and prices for single frozen product are low,” he told IntraFish.
Sources speculated that big purchases from Pacific Andes International Holdings, the largest fillet producer in the world, are the reason for the rising H&G prices.
"Pacific Andes may have offered a high price to Russians, in the hope of pushing up the price. Otherwise there will be a big write off on their huge inventories. It seems to me this is a reasonable explanation,” said the China processor.
Pacific Andes did not respond to IntraFish by the time of publication.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietfish 2026, the Vietnam International Seafood Exhibition, will officially take place from 19–21 August 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. As Vietnam’s largest annual seafood trade event, organized by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietfish 2026 will once again bring together leading seafood companies, industry experts, and international partners from across the global seafood value chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached USD 1.1 billion in July 2026, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first seven months of the year totaled nearly USD 6.86 billion, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year. Exceeding the USD 1 billion mark in July further reinforces the prospect that Vietnam’s seafood exports could surpass USD 12 billion in 2026. However, the July figures also send a clear signal that the most favorable growth period may have passed: overall export growth slowed to just 4.8%, pangasius exports fell 6.1%, tuna exports were virtually flat, while exports to the EU, South Korea, and the Middle East all recorded double-digit declines.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the seminar "Global Seafood Market and the Future Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainable Development Pathways for Vietnam's Seafood Industry" will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on August 19, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first of five specialized seminars at Vietfish 2026, focusing on key issues that are shaping the long-term development of Vietnam's seafood industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese seafood exports recorded impressive growth, generating nearly 6 billion USD in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 13% compared with the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Fishermen in Ha Tinh are gradually overcoming difficulties to maintain the efficiency of seafood exploitation. In the first six months of 2026, the entire province achieved a production of more than 23,000 tons of seafood, worth more than 1,200 billion VND.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) June 2026 brought encouraging signs for Vietnam's tuna exports, with export value rising 20% year-on-year to nearly USD 72 million. However, this increase has yet to offset the prolonged slowdown seen in key markets such as the European Union (EU), where import demand remains weak. The outlook for the second half of the year is expected to become more challenging as freight rates continue to climb.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Agency for Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will organize the Domestic Seafood Supply–Demand Matching Program on the morning of August 20, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. The program aims to foster direct business connections between Vietnamese seafood producers and processors and domestic distributors, retailers, and foodservice channels.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Cooking Show will be one of the most engaging experiential highlights of Vietfish 2026. Taking place over three days, from August 19–21, 2026, at Hall B1, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City, the event will offer visitors a vibrant culinary space where Vietnamese seafood is showcased through its flavors, stories, and real-life culinary applications.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's pangasius exports reached USD 205 million in June 2026, up 5% compared with the same month in 2025. Cumulative export value for the first six months of the year totaled USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand from China and CPTPP markets, while exports to the United States and Brazil continued to decline.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first six months of 2026, Ha Tinh province continued to implement comprehensive solutions to combat IUU fishing; strictly manage the fishing fleet, control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, operate vessel tracking devices, trace the origin of seafood, and severely punish violations.
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