Undercurrent News reported on Monday 12 October that Scottish cod and haddock prices split by size in week 41, the week of 5 to 11 October. Smaller grades fell week on week, while larger haddock firmed. Undercurrent doesn’t give an average price in the summary I’ve seen, so I won’t put a number on it, but the direction is clear enough to be worth knowing before you buy this week.
Salmon, by contrast, looks steady. Undercurrent’s separate assessment on Friday 9 October said Norwegian spot prices saw only a small lift for week 42, and Scottish salmon was flat. So if you’re counting on salmon for the counter this week, it should be much as it was. It’s the whitefish side where the grade you choose will move your margin.
For a fishmonger or merchant, that means asking for a grade-by-grade price rather than the headline figure. Smaller cod and haddock look like the value buy for fillets and portions. Large haddock, the size most of you want for the fillet counter and that smokehouses need for a decent smoked fillet, is the dearer end. Two lines on the same invoice may be heading opposite ways.
Cheap small fish tempts people to buy a bit more. Only do it if you can hold it properly. Fresh whitefish wants to sit as cold as you can get it without freezing, in well-drained ice, and a van packed solid with no air moving round the boxes warms up at the back and by the door first. Check the unit has pulled down to its set temperature before a box goes in.
If you’re running extra loads of small fish out to several shops, door-open time is the enemy on a multi-drop round, so plan the drops and keep the doors shut between them. And if you’re buying ahead because the price is right, make sure your chill store has the space, not just the van. The van is for moving fish, not storing it.
This week, I’d ask your supplier for week-42 prices by grade before Thursday’s buying, and compare small against large on both cod and haddock rather than taking the first figure offered. If you’d like to talk through how much fish a given van will carry sensibly with ice and drainage, I’m happy to go through it with you.
Quick checklist
- Ask your supplier for week-42 prices by grade before Thursday’s buying
- Compare small and large cod and haddock separately, not the headline price
- Check the unit has pulled down to temperature before loading
- Leave air round the boxes; don’t pack the van solid
- Buying ahead? Make sure the chill store has space, not just the van
Also in the news
- Enforcement teams at Southend seized around 22kg of illegally gathered mussels, clams and periwinkles, over half the clams undersized; keep registration documents with every shellfish batch. Source
- Salmon Scotland began a five-day India trade mission on 5 October after the UK–India deal removed a roughly one-third tariff; exports could reach around £130m over a decade. Source
- A University of Exeter study of 100 years of recipes found cod, haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns now make up about four in five of UK seafood eaten. Source
If cheaper small fish has you moving more boxes this autumn, these three chillers are the ones I’d point a fish business at this week.
- 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 315CDI L3H2 PROGRESSIVE Refrigerated Chiller Van: £39,995 +VAT
- 2024 74 Reg Renault Trafic Blue Dci 2.0 Ll30 Advance L2 H1 Refrigerated Chiller Van: £25,495 +VAT
- 2024 24 Reg Ford Transit Connect L2 Limited Refrigerated Chiller Van: £22,995 +VAT
See all our fridge vans for fish and seafood
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Sources: Scottish cod, haddock prices split as smaller grades suffer sharp declines in week 41 – Undercurrent News, Multi-agency crackdown on illegal shellfish harvesting in Southend – Fishing News, shetlandtimes.co.uk, 100-year magazine study reveals ‘narrowing’ of U.K. seafood recipes, Norway salmon spot prices see small lift for week 42, Scottish flat – Undercurrent News, 22kg of illegally harvested shellfish seized in crackdown on Southend beaches
