OSLO (Reuters) - The price of Norwegian farmed salmon is expected to fall to a range of 63-68 Norwegian crowns ($7.5-$8.1) per kilo next week from near-record levels of 77-78 crowns in the current week, a fish trader and a salmon producer told Reuters on Friday.
Norway is the world's top salmon exporter, and the share price of listed farming companies depend heavily on changes in the price of fish.
"We see a significant downwards correction next week," said a salmon producer who declined to be named, adding that recent supplies of fish to the market had been higher than expected as fish farms kept operating even on public holidays.
The surge in prices over the last several weeks was also seen as unsustainable, he said. Prices peaked at around 80 crowns per kilo in early January before dropping to 50 crowns, but have since rallied.
An exporter confirmed the steep fall for next week, adding that trading volumes were thin so far.
"Around 65 crowns is probably a more sustainable level going forward, but we do expect a higher volume of fish from July," he added.
Supply constraints are expected to support prices in the first half of 2017 before an expected increase in volumes later in the year.
Leading Norwegian producers include Marine Harvest (OL:MHG), Salmar (OL:SALM), Leroy Seafood (OL:LSG), Grieg Seafood (OL:GSFO) and Norway Royal Salmon (OL:NRSM).