Seafood prices set to skyrocket ahead of Easter

With Easter only a week away millions of Aussies are preparing for their traditional seafood feast — but small seafood retailers are claiming the prices are set to be at an all-time high.

Seafood prices are rising as a result of flooding, Covid-19 and demand overseas, particularly for salmon —and apparently, it's looking to stay that way.

Joel Best, the owner of Besuto in Sydney's CBD, has worked in the Seafood industry for over 22 years, and told Yahoo News Australia he's never seen prices as high as they are right now.

Mr Best said wholesale prices for salmon were $16 per kilo, but have risen now to $18, predicting that by the end of this month it will rise again to $20, which would filter down to high prices at the retailers.

"I've never seen it [increase] between 20 and 30 per cent in such a short time," he said, adding Rock oysters rise from $16 to $19 dozen and Snapper Line from New Zealand going from $17.50 to $19.50.

"Across the board, it's supply and demand. You know there are not many fishermen out there," he continued, contributing isolation due to Covid and the recent flooding as reasons for supply issues for particular seafood— particularly salmon.

"[With] oysters, the estuaries are still close to flooding," he explained. "I mean, half your oyster farmers have lost their actual equipment in the floods, so it's going to take them years to get back up and running."

Mr Best said with wholesale prices increasing, it'll filter down to consumers who purchase from independent shops with no choice but to increase prices.

"From the wholesale point of view to the retail point of view you're probably looking at 20 to 25 per cent increase if not more, because they've got to put their price up," he said.

Veronica Papacosta, the CEO of Seafood Industry Australia says she thinks the rush for seafood is regular supply and demand.

"It's interesting to me that they would take that approach being focused on seafood, because there are really well-documented cost of living pressures across the whole economy," she told Yahoo News Australia.

"I don't think it's necessarily [just] the case of seafood".

Woolworths and Coles expect their prices to remain unchanged

Woolworths and Coles supermarkets say their prices aren't changing ahead of the seafood rush.

"Customers are buying 200 per cent more fresh seafood in the week leading up to Good Friday compared to any other week of the year," a spokesperson from Coles said, adding they've dropped the prices of several items.

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A Woolworths spokesperson said they are in a "strong position" for the increased demand of various seafood products in the days leading up to Easter.

"In the lead-up to Easter, our teams have been working closely with seafood suppliers across Australia to ensure customers can enjoy quality seafood as part of their Easter spread at a competitive price.

"We also know value is important to our customers each time they shop with us, and rock lobster continues to be one of our most popular seafood products during major holidays like Christmas and Easter," a spokesperson said.

“While it’s been a bumpy couple of weeks on the water, it’s great to see fishers and fleets across the regions returning to sea and our auction volumes increasing as Easter nears," Sydney Fish Market CEO, Greg Dyer said in a statement.

"We know seafood is a staple at Easter, particularly Good Friday, so shoppers can be assured that we will have all their favourites and seasonal specialties available.”

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