Coronavirus: from Norway to Vietnam, seafood markets sink as demand dries up

The global seafood industry is seeing demand crater as the pandemic shuts restaurants and wreaks havoc with supply chains

Salmon prices have dropped in Norway. In Hokkaido, some suppliers are even holding emergency sales of unwanted catch

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Women buy seafood at a market in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 17 Apr 2020Updated: 8:27am, 17 Apr 2020

Just one kilogram of freshly caught squid a day was almost enough to live on for Thai fishermen like Wisut Boonnak. Now the catch has halved in price and he is spending more time on village duties.

“It’s the biggest price drop that I can remember,” said Wisut, who’s been fishing for the past 40 years off the southern Thai coast.

“There are fewer buyers around now because exports are lower.”

Wisut used to go to sea daily to catch squid and mackerel. These days he is out just once or twice a week.

The global seafood industry, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is seeing demand crater. From lobster fishermen in North America to salmon farmers in Norway and shrimp producers in Vietnam, people are hurting as the coronavirus shuts cafes and restaurants and wreaks havoc with supply chains. Whether farmed or wild, fresh or processed, few areas have escaped the impact.

“There’s less demand for seafood now, fewer consumers,” said Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand. “People see it as a discretionary product.”