India Cephalopod Market Update : December 20, 2016
Generally the cephalopod landings in India is low. Boats will stop fishing for Christmas/New Year and the catch is expected to resume by 2nd week of January. By this time the catch is expected to slow down considerably.
The landings for Octopus have generally been quite poor this season. Comparatively, Squid and Cuttlefish landings have been better but below normal averages with a peak in September – October. There has been a considerable decrease in landings ever since.
Increased buying (mainly from China) has driven up raw material prices of Squid & Cuttlefish. Processors have to compete with each other for availability, in turn they have to end up paying a premium.
China is expected to slow down their buying for Chinese New Year, but this will not necessarily reflect on the prices. The competition between exporters for raw material is still high because many continue to have orders on the books.