Raw material prices for cobia remain high, continuing to squeeze profits for Chinese factories.

Core tip: During the 38th week of 2025 (September 15–21), the pollock market remained in a high operating state, with no significant signs of the price drop that processing enterprises had anticipated. The price for 25cm+ headless and gutted (H&G) raw materials from Russia remained stable between 1,550–1,600 USD/ton. Although individual sellers slightly reduced prices amid increasing resistance from Chinese buyers, the overall price remained firm.

Chinese processing enterprises are facing increasing pressure. Due to the European Union's cancellation of the zero-tariff quota for Russian products and the imposition of an additional 13.7% tariff in 2024, the export profits of frozen pollock fillets have been severely compressed. Currently, the FOB China price for frozen pollock fillets hovers around $2,900–3,000 per ton, while the landed price in Europe, including the tariff, reaches $3,200–3,250 per ton, almost on par with the U.S. B-season PBO contract price. European buyers are resolutely resisting further price increases, making it difficult for Chinese processing plants to pass on the rising raw material costs to downstream buyers. More troublesome is the fact that some previously signed low-price contracts are now nearly at break-even or even at a loss. Based on the raw material market conditions for 2025, these contract prices are too low to cover processing and transportation costs. Industry insiders reveal that most ...