Inflation is hitting nearly all categories in the grocery store, as 75 percent of consumers say they have less confidence to spend as inflation hits a 40-year high, according to a new First Insight report.
Rising seafood prices and consumer concerns about overall inflation in the U.S. continued to harm fresh seafood sales in April, according to new data.
However, frozen seafood sales rose 2.8 percent and shelf-stable seafood sales jumped 9.6 percent for the month, compared to April 2021, according to IRI and 210 Analytics.
Fresh seafood prices jumped an average of 13.5 percent per unit in April, higher than the 12.1 percent they experienced increase in March. The average price for finfish jumped to over USD 10.00 (EUR 9.50) per unit – a spike of 20.9 percent – while fresh shellfish prices rose 2.3 percent, IRI and 210 Analytics found.
Potentially in response, fresh seafood sales plummeted 11.8 percent to USD 493 million (EUR 468 million) in April.
While dollar sales remained above pre-pandemic levels, sales volumes are trailing 2019 levels, 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink said.
“This is especially true for shellfish, for which pounds are 11.6 percent behind April 2019 levels,” she said.
Roerink said she expects the prices of seafood to spike further amid Russian sanctions, with a particular impact on crab, cod, and Alaska pollock. The war in Ukraine, renewed COVID lockdowns in China, record inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain challenges “will have a continued effect on food and frozen food sales in the months to come,” she said.
at Seafood Source.
