Does the amount of pacific salmon catch affect the wholesale prices of their products?

Abstract

Since 2017, volatility of weekly wholesale prices for pacific salmon increased in the Russian domestic market, particularly in the Far East of Russia, that had coincided with higher fluctuations of the weekly and annual catch. Correlation between these variables is investigated for the period from 2010 to 2022, using graphical and regression analyses and 18-factor model for prices of the pink, chum, and sockeye salmon products. The dynamics of prices for pacific salmon products cannot be fully explained only by catch dynamics, but depends on a number of supplementary factors affecting the activities of fish industry enterprises. Anyway, a degree of the catch and price in preceding weeks influence on the wholesale prices is estimated for the main species of pacific salmon. The impact of the catch factor is not significant though more considerable for pink salmon product prices than for the other pacific salmon species.