Keeping Salmon at the Top of the Menu: How to Maintain the High Demand

The salmon industry should continue to innovate to reinforce its current value proposition as a healthy and sustainable product. The competition for the centre of the plate is getting tougher as the consumer trends that favoured salmon also favour the new range of alternative proteins.

Report summary

Salmon has competed successfully with other animal proteins for the centre of the plate. It has outpaced growth in pork, poultry, beef, and wild-caught seafood.

Three factors have contributed to the growth of salmon demand so far, and can support further growth:
1. consumer trends favouring salmon consumption,
2. unique features of the salmon supply chain compared with other seafood categories,
3. growth strategies through new markets and new value-added products.

Meanwhile, salmon prices have been very volatile but generally increasing. Despite this, the industry has been able to gain consumers in new markets in developed and emerging economies, although it has lost some consumers in the established markets.

“For the foreseeable future, Rabobank expects strong salmon demand to continue, which will keep prices at their current highs,” according to Beyhan de Jong, Associate Analyst – Seafood. “However, we don’t anticipate the high prices to be sustainable in the long run.”