July 16, 2021 — United States grocery sales rose slightly in June, while overall seafood sales decreased due to comparisons with pandemic buying in 2020.
U.S. fresh, frozen, and ambient seafood sales reached USD 585 million (EUR 496 million) in June 2021, according to IRI and 210 Analytics. While that was a 5.3 percent drop from 2020, seafood sales surged nearly 44 percent this June compared to 2019.
May 17, 2021 — Alaska’s 2021 salmon officially starts on Monday, May 17 with a 12-hour opener for reds and kings at the Copper River.
All eyes will be on early Cordova dock prices for Alaska’s famous “first fresh salmon of the season” as an indicator of wild salmon markets. COVID-forced closures in 2020 of high-end restaurants and seafood outlets tanked starting prices to $3 per pound for sockeyes and $6.50 for king salmon, down from $10 and $14, respectively the previous year.
But early signs are looking good.
Heading into Mother’s Day on May 9, demand for seafood was “fanatic” said Mitch Miller, vice president of national upscale seafood restaurants Ocean Prime in Nation’s Restaurant News.
National Retail Federation President Matthew Shay said there is a lot more consumer optimism this year as more people are getting vaccinated and stimulus checks are being distributed, and friends and family are moving about more freely.
Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest is projected to top 190 million fish, a 61% increase over the 2020 catch. The breakdown includes 46.6 million sockeye salmon, 3.8 million cohos, 15.3 million chum salmon, 296,000 Chinook and 124.2 million pinks.
February 24, 2021 — U.S. retail sales are expected to continue to grow this year, according to a new estimate from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Overall retail sales will rise between 6.5 percent and 8.2 percent to more than USD 4.33 trillion (EUR 3.5 trillion) in 2021 as COVID-19 vaccinations increase and the economy reopens, the NRF said in its 2021 forecast.
January 20, 2021 — Retail sales were higher than expected during the 2020 holiday season – and sales of seafood shone as a particularly bright spot.
Frozen seafood was “one of the strongest performers” in the overall supermarket frozen food department, growing 23 percent in December versus a year ago, 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink told SeafoodSource.